


Welcome to the Eternal Night

by orphan_account



Category: Star Trek Into Darkness - Fandom, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Implied Relationships, M/M, Mpreg, OCs - Freeform, Post Star Trek: Into Darkness, Sexual Content, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-02
Updated: 2013-09-16
Packaged: 2017-12-22 05:18:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 25,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/909372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Khan and Jim have set up a small civilisation on Ceti Alpha V. This series just follows what happens when augments and humans mix.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Can we lose our minds, and call it Love for the First Time?

**Author's Note:**

> Song is "The Balcony Scene" by Pierce the Veil.

_“Don’t react when I tell you,_   
_And don’t react when I tell you;_   
_That bright lights mean nothing to you,_   
_Because no one would know the sound of a ghost._   
_And I might be something to you,_   
_Beyond beautiful, is the sound of a ghost._   
_Can we lose our minds,_   
_And call it love for the last time?_   
_My darling never rests,_   
_Until the darker gets the best of all we had,_   
_Can the cold carry on?_   
_When the light means nothing to you,_   
_Then no one would know the sound of a ghost._   
_And I might be perfect with you,_   
_But no one would know._   
_So tell me, Tell Me.”_

_“Have you ever really danced on the edge? Is there something scaring you?_   
_Have you ever really danced on the edge? The count to three is on,_   
_Have you ever really danced on the edge? Alright, tell me so,_   
_Have you ever really danced on the edge? Just hold my hand and jump.”_

_“And bright lights mean nothing to you, Because no one would know the sound of a ghost._   
_Oh, no one would know the sound of a ghost.”_

 

Ceti Alpha V, that’s where the two lovers ended up.

Most would assume that the desolate planet would be the worse outcome for Khan and his small army of augments. Oh how wrong they were. Khan spent most of his time bustling around with the others building a small city on the deserted planet, a city capable of holding the augments and whoever Starfleet decided to maroon here too. They were making the most of the planet’s resources, or whatever the augments could actually find amongst the sands and gravel.

Jim stayed with Khan, clung to him actually. Since the containers holding Khan’s crew opened, the women of the crew began to marry the men, trying to begin a new race of humans. Khan often laughed at Kirk’s sudden jealousy and protectiveness.   
“You’re acting like a stag during spring,” he would remark, smirking at the glare given by the ex-captain.   
“You remember what you promised me once,” he said, making his way towards Khan in the comforts of their house. “I am yours.”   
“And you are mine,” Khan smiled and kissed Kirk gently before returning to the piles of newly plotted maps of the planet. “What’s all of this?” Jim asked, wrapping his arms around Khan’s middle and resting his chin on his shoulder. “Expanding our city, my love.”   
“City,” Jim laughed. “I’d hardly consider a few houses and roads a city.”

Khan ignored the comment and carried on; moving different maps around, drawing imaginary lines across the mountains with his fingers and constantly muttering to himself. It’s how he thinks, Kirk reminds him. He often saw it happen when they were on the ship. When they were approaching a new planet, or a Starfleet vessel happened to be looking for them, he heard the inaudible talking of his lover. It was cute.

“Would it be possible for a certain augment to leave his conquering plans for one night so he can spend it with his lover,” Jim’s sly smile returned after a while, brushing his nose against Khan’s neck and nuzzling into it.   
“It would,” Khan’s voice was beginning to get deep. Jim’s finally getting somewhere. “But what would this particular lover be so interested in that an augment would be dragged away from his very important plans?” Khan, despite his questionings, was now standing before Jim, letting their fingers entwine.   
“I suppose he’s lonely,” Jim’s voice was barely audible, Khan hardly heard what he said. “It’s been so long since they spent a night together...properly.” They both paused; standing in the middle of their room, looking at each other. Kirk had a look of sheer loneliness in his eyes, that much was recognisable to the augment. Khan, however, desperately searched those blue eyes for something else. Jim knew Khan was going to be invested in building and creating a new civilisation, Khan had told him that. True, they hadn’t spent a night together in a number of days, which to a certain blond, must have seemed like years.   
“Then on those grounds, he can certainly get whatever he likes,” Khan smiled and held Kirk’s chin up with a finger. “And the augment will be sure to make his poor lover feel so much better.”   
_Oh he’s gotten out the possessive pronouns_ , Kirk mused.   
“I certainly hope so.” Jim flung his arms around Khan’s neck and kissed him hard. From then on it was a series of rough kisses, moans and pulling of clothes.

By the time Khan had thrown Jim onto the bed, he was shirtless and positioning himself over a naked blond. Just as he was going to kiss him again, a loud knock came from their room’s door, followed by the voice of an augment. “Sir?”  
“Answer him and I’ll kill you,” Jim grabbed Khan’s face and kissed him again.   
“Sir, its Meryn,” the augment said, his voice clearly shaking. Khan abruptly pulled from Jim and went to the door. Covering himself, Jim could see Rowan at the door. Rowan had become a good friend to Jim, and a brother to Khan. He and Meryn had been engaged before the freezing of the augments, and soon got married when they were released, later announcing to Khan and Jim that they were expecting a child; a welcomed edition to the new race. Rowan, although a happy and peaceful man, was standing at the door talking at an extreme pace, barely letting Khan get a word in. Jim couldn’t hear any of it, but Rowan was close to tears. After what seemed to be hours, Khan sent Rowan back to his house down the street, while Khan threw on a shirt.   
“What’s wrong with Meryn?” Jim asked, absent-mindedly playing with a bit of the bed sheets, but in a serious tone.   
“From what Rowan could tell me, she’s gone into labour but something’s wrong,” Khan placed a quick kiss on Jim’s lips before racing out of their home and down to Rowan’s house.

Jim ran his hand through his hair and sighed, nestling himself into the bed. Another lonely night.


	2. Is it Lust or Envy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirk comes to terms with Khan's new status.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think from now on the fanfic is going to revolve around one song until I change it...It's "Edge of Heaven" by Breathe Carolina. *Read Ending Notes too...* But omg, this is so short and such a filler chapter...I'm ashamed.... You'll get so sexy times in the next chapter, I swear.

_“I can’t hold back,_   
_my hands won’t let me._   
_It’s the touch of your skin, is it lust or envy?_   
_I can’t hold back, my pride won’t let me._   
_I’m seeing red, this is all too deadly._   
_This is all too deadly.”_

_"Fallout, one more taste (One last time)_   
_I just can’t help it_   
_Fallout, I need it all_   
_Hanging from the edge of Heaven._   
_All Seven, All Seven,_   
_Fallout, I need it all,_   
_Hanging from the Edge of Heaven.”_

_“I can’t get up, motivation left me._   
_I let it burn, only embers left in me._   
_My old friend, how long it’s been._   
_My original sin, we meet again,_   
_You thought me to live like this,_   
_My original sin, we meet again.”_

_“Fallout, one more taste (One last time)_   
_I just can’t help it._   
_Fallout, I need it all,_   
_Hanging from the edge of heaven._   
_All Seven, All Seven._   
_Fallout, I need it all,_   
_Hanging from the Edge of Heaven.”_

_“You thought me,_   
_You thought me this._   
_I’ll take my place,_   
_My mind still hates you,_   
_With my Seven Sins;_   
_I’ll reign again,_   
_Baby I’ll reign again.”_

_“Fallout, one more taste (One last time)_   
_I just can’t help it,_   
_Fallout, I need it all,_   
_Hanging from the edge of heaven._   
_All Seven, All Seven._   
_Fallout, I need it all,_   
_Hanging from the Edge of Heaven.”_

 

Khan silently watched the back of Kirk’s head, mapping out every strand of golden hair, every freckle that was dotted on his neck. Gently, he moved his arm around Jim’s waist, careful not to wake the sleeping blond.

“So the King returns?” he heard the ex-captain mutter.  
“He has,” Khan’s arms tightened around Jim’s waist and he brought his lips to his neck. “And he’d be nothing without his Prince.”  
“Don’t ever call me that,” he grumbled a response, and launched out of bed, leaving the augment behind. Looking at him now, Jim saw that he was still clothed, and lying on top of the sheets.  
“Would it be safe to say you’re angry with me?” Khan said as he watched Jim throw on his clothes.

“How’s Meryn and the baby?”  
“Don’t try and change the subject.”  
“I’m merely concerned,” Jim’s voice was quiet. Maybe it was because it was morning, or maybe he was properly annoyed at Khan.  
“She’s fine, as is the child,” Khan finally replied. “Back to my earlier question, are you angry with me?”

Jim had disappeared into the main room and was flicking through the plans Khan had been reading through the previous night. It was all pretty standard; more houses to be built, should any more people be banished here, excavating to find a permanent source of water. It was impressive that all of this had been planned, ordered and carried out in a number of months.

“Jim,” was the only thing to break the silence. “Answer me.”  
“Yes,” he sighed. “Well, yes and no.” Jim sat on one of the chairs, looking out one of the many windows their home had. “I just miss you, that’s all.”  
“I’m here now-”  
“-Exactly, you’re here now. I understand you’re their King, their leader. But you’ve become so invested in these plans that I think sometimes you’ve forgotten about me.”

Khan’s heart launched itself into his throat. He knew it wasn’t ideal for Jim to be spending his time around the house or the streets trying to make conversations with the other augments...which is easier said than done. “I haven’t,” Khan stood behind Kirk. “And I never will. Though you and I met under negative circumstances, you are the most important person in my life. You realise that, right?”

Jim had to laugh; he remembers how they met. Khan’s attack on the Enterprise, the fall of Marcus... He remembers it all.  
“I do know that,” he turned in Khan’s grasp to face him. “I was hoping you knew that.” He kissed Khan gently, wrapping his arms around Khan’s neck. When they broke apart, the regular knock came from the door. “You know your people have a really bad sense of timing.”  
“ _My_ people?” Khan sneered. “They’ve become your people too, love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, one of the lines in that magnificent song is "My original sin, we meet again"....Maybe Spock will be making a reappearance....Maybe .> Your advice is always welcomed.


	3. Hanging from the Edge of Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Jim Kirk says that Khan is his, he means it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because the other one was ridiculously short...

When Jim says that Khan is his, he means it. 

He’s devilish plan began one morning when he ran an arm over Khan’s side of the bed to find it empty. Damn augment and their internal clocks. Throwing on the thin shirt and trouser he now had to wear because of the heat of Ceti Alpha V, he searched the house for Khan, finding him talking with Rowan over another set of plans for some mining excavation in the coming weeks.  
Even with Rowan’s presence, Jim had no problem with winding his arms around Khan’s neck and resting his chin on his shoulder.   
“Can I help you?” Khan said, motioning to Rowan to leave. As soon as the door closed, Jim kissed his way down Khan’s neck.   
“I just wanted to say good morning,” he murmured against his skin. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”  
“Oh, nothing of importance.”  
“You’re not very good at sarcasm, darling.”

The journey from the main room to their bedroom was a mix between shedding clothes and stolen kisses. Jim fell back onto the bed, watching Khan loom over him. It was times like this that Jim actually saw how huge Khan was in comparison.

And it was amazing for Jim to think that outside their home, Khan Noonien Singh was a feared terrorist and a King to his people, and inside their home...It was Jim that was most definitely in charge.

Running his hands down Khan’s chest, Jim smirked as he flipped them so Khan lay on his back with a questioning gaze. Thinking of this sudden turn of dominance as yet another James Kirk display, Khan bites his captain’s ear, breathing heavily as he attempts turns them back, letting Jim fall on to his stomach. Though his plan failed, Jim couldn’t care less; this is just the way he likes, feeling the heavy weight of his king behind him. All of that is quickly forgotten when he’s impaled with each thrust. Despite how many times they have done this, Jim is always tight, always perfect.  
“Oh, so, so good, my love,” Khan sighs. His breath dances on Kirk’s skin, leaving goosebumps on the exposed flesh. Jim is panting, feeling boneless and his heart is pounding in his ribcage. “But, if you ever interrupt an important meeting again, I swear I’ll fuck you so hard you won’t be able to remember your name.”  
“All the more reasons to interrupt,” Jim laughs then buries his head into his folded arms, trying to put off a quickly approaching orgasm. It’s not enough to of course, it never is. Vision blurred, and body quickly tensing; he flops down onto the bed dragging an orgasm from the augment. 

 

The aftershocks are always loving; Jim’s head buried into Khan’s neck, while the two are entwined in a series of limbs. Though sleep is something long forgotten about, the two wait until their bodies returned to working condition. Khan’s, of course, was pretty much normal minutes after, but he still waited for a boneless Kirk to come back to his senses.

Kirk’s senses were rattled. His mind ventured back to the Enterprise, to the Academy, his old crew. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t think of them every day, but as the days droned on, he couldn’t help but feel empty.   
Khan was a good boyfriend, or whatever they considered themselves to be. He loved Kirk since the moment he was escorted by redshirts onto the prisoner’s deck, but the love Khan expressed was first considered to be lust. On the Vengeance, Khan had not only saved Kirk’s life from a series of Marcus’ soldiers, but dragged Kirk behind a control panel and kissed him. He remembers something in his mind changing, whatever it was. Scotty was pretty much forgotten about momentarily as the two men practically made-out, and at the time...Kirk didn’t particularly care.

Since then, Khan hi-jacked the Enterprise and Kirk was there right beside him, much to the horror of his crew. He didn’t want to be put into that position...but he loved Khan. It was complicated: very complicated.  
Jim came back to the present when he felt Khan’s arm tighten around him, “Are you alright?”  
“Yeah, ‘m fine,” he stifled a yawn.   
“Stay in bed, my love,” Khan pulled the sheets up to cover Jim’s body. “I need to check on the others.”  
Paying no heed to Khan, Jim felt himself being dragged back into a light sleep, smiling as Khan pulled the curtains. “Get back here soon.”  
“I will,” he placed a quick kiss on his temple. “I promise.”


	4. This is all too deadly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rowan puts Khan's love interest into question.

The augments adapted very quickly to the surface of the planet. Many of them scavenged the earth looking for food or water, while others built and constructed. Jim often remarked how nice it seemed that there were a few children running around from house to house, laughing and talking. To Khan’s happiness, they had no problem approaching the blond and showing them their toys, or Jim telling them stories of Earth. Their parents had no issues with that, of course. Earth was so far away, it was almost like a myth to the children.  

On this particular day, Khan walked the streets alone; arms folding behind his back, eyes surveying not only the houses but the outline of the mountain tops that were miles ahead. With them there, it was hard to see any enemies approaching, although they did offer some shelter from the scorching sun.

Khan smiled as he saw some of his people gather around Meryn, who was apparently walking with Rowan as they showed their new baby their world. When Khan walked up to them, the surrounding crowd parted like the Red Sea. Only a few days old, the baby could have past for a human toddler; her eyes were open and hands were grasping onto whatever was closest to her.  
“Does she like our world, I wonder,” Khan smiled as he watched the child grab onto Rowan’s fingers.  
“I would like to think so, sir,” he replied. Removing the child’s tiny fist, he faced Khan directly, “could I have a word? In private, if you don’t mind.”  
“Of course, Rowan.”

The two made their way down the main street, now paved and extending in many directions. “What is it you wanted to talk to me about?”  
“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking,” Rowan refused to look at Khan. “Do you think it is wise to keep a human as a mate? A Starfleet human at that?”  
Khan didn’t respond immediately, he stopped walking and looked at Rowan. “I thought I had made it clear that James Kirk was to be made a part of this family. He is mine, and I am your king-”  
“-I understand that sir, but do you not think Starfleet may want their captain back?”  
“Should Starfleet ever come here, or mount some sort of rescue mission for their beloved Captain, they’ll have to pry him from my grasp,” Khan’s voice was deeper now than it usually was, his posture was stiff as a piece of wood, and it looked like he was trying to keep himself from flying off into a fit.

“Should Starfleet ever come here, our people would be put into danger. The men, women and even the children,” Rowan wasn’t scared of Khan, they were practically brothers, but at times like this he wished he would turn and run far away. “We have very little to protect ourselves, Khan.”  
“You have _me_.”  
“I know we do, but you have to be logical about this Khan; one man against an entire organisation. You’ll be killed if you stand alone.”

Khan didn’t reply. He looked around at his people who were still gathered at Meryn, laughing and smiling. “Good thing I’m not alone,” he muttered and stormed back to his home.

Rowan was left standing in the middle of the street, watching his brother leave, vaguely aware that Meryn joined his side. “What was it you wanted to talk to Khan about, love?”  
“Nothing important,” he turned to his wife and smiled, determined to keep them safe.

 

“Do you love me?”  
Jim nearly choked on his food, dropping the spoon onto the table with a loud clink. “What?”  
“Do you love me, Jim.”  
“Of course I do.”  
Khan sat at the other side of the table, staring into the crystal blue eyes as if he was searching for something inside them.  
“Why would you ask that?” Jim continued to eat.  
“Just something someone said to me today,” Khan stopped himself there. Rowan was a good friend to Jim, even on the Enterprise they got along.

“You think I’m still loyal to Starfleet, don’t you?” Jim mumbled.  
Getting no reply from the augment, Jim continued, “the answer is no. The day I fell in love with you, they faded from my life.”  
“Did they though?”  
“What?”  
“You still think about them,” Khan said. “The doctor, the little Ensign...the Vulcan.”  
Jim pushed whatever food was infront of him away. “Yes, I do think about them. But not in the way you think, my dear.”

He got up from the table and went out one of the tall lancet doors onto the terrace, overlooking the city which was lit with torches and lanterns. Though the days were scorching, the nights were cold and once outside in the cold desert air, Jim cursed himself for not grabbing his jacket.  
The stars from space could be seen here. One of the things about Ceti Alpha that he liked: the open, unobstructed skies.  
Pulling the long sleeves of his shirt to cover his fists, he leaned on the handrail infront of him and just looked at the black sky with the white dots, tracing the constellations and remembering being thought them in the Academy.

The Academy...Bones...Spock-

-No, no he wasn’t going to remember them. He was here now, with Khan, living a peaceful life.

Jim sighed and ran his hand through his hair, trying to retain any kind of sense he had left. Spock was his best friend, he saved his life...but Khan, he loved him. But so did Spock.

“What am I doing,” he moaned and buried his face in his hands.

“My love?” Khan stood at the door to the balcony, not coming over as if he was waiting for Kirk’s approval to.  
Jim faced the augment, the underside of his eyes growing red. Khan approached him and hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry for questioning your feelings for me,” he said. “I shouldn’t have.”

Jim didn’t reply for a while, but buried his face into Khan’s black shirt and the augment draped his own jacket around his body. “Maybe you were right to,” he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter may be a Spock chapter, or any-person-on-the-Enterprise-chapter...Its mainly because I've mentioned Kirk missing them quite a lot in previous chapters, including this one...So..might as well...


	5. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Upon reflection of this chapter, I have come to the conclusion that Jim may eventually turn into Daenerys Targaryen when it comes to slaves...

Although Jim stated one too many times that he didn’t want to be called or treated like a Prince, he couldn’t help enjoying it.

Jim was submerged in the warm bath water while Khan was off doing God-knows-what in some other part of the planet. He knew mission like that could take days, weeks even. Jim didn’t mind though, it was those days he found surprisingly peaceful.

Some of the other augments were with Kirk; talking and laughing about their old lives and talking about the future. Jim paid no attention. He laid his head back while a girl ran her hand through his hair, which was now brushing the top of his shoulders, and started to cut it. From what he could see through the mists of the bath water, she was young. Surprisingly young. She had black hair pulled back into a tight braid and a small scar on the corner of her lip.

Through the guise of the other augments’ conversations, he managed to ask the girl, “You’re not one of them, are you?”  
The girl seemed a bit shocked that he had talked to her, and shyly shook her head. Before Jim could say another word, he noticed the silence that fell between the others; they were all muttering quietly and staring.

“Leave us,” Jim sighed and the augments left the room just as quickly as they had entered. Once the door was shut, Jim smiled warmly at the girl. “You don’t need to be afraid of me, you know that right?”  
Another nod.  
“Can I ask you for your name?”  
“Laila,” she murmured.  
“Laila... _night beauty_ ,” Jim smiled again, desperately trying to get a reaction out of her. To his astonishment, she stifled a small laugh and nodded again. “A beautiful name: Laila.”  
“I was named after my mother,” her voice becoming more stable as she was nearing the end of cutting Jim’s hair. “Before I was brought here, I lived with her.”  
“Where did you live before?”  
“Earth,” Laila ran some of the water over Kirk’s head before cleaning the scissors.  
“I’m from Earth too, you know,”  
“You’re from Earth?” she questioned, looking at Jim. “But you’re Master Khan’s-”  
“-It’s a long story,” he laughed.

After that, there wasn’t much talking but Jim started to think about what Laila had said about coming from Earth, and before she had a chance to get up and leave, he gently grabbed her hand, “If you’re from Earth, how did you get here?”  
“I used to serve the highborns on New Vulcan, and then I went to Mordan IV,” she listed. “Then Master Khan-”  
Laila paused and shook her head, “I’m sorry, sir. I shouldn’t-”  
“-If you think I’m going to say anything to him, you’d be wrong,” Jim lifted himself onto the marble steps of the bath to get a better look at the girl. “We’ll keep this between us.”

 

*

 

Starfleet headquarters in San Francisco was bustling with its normal activity, but powering through the crowds were a disgruntled doctor and a ‘soon-to-lose-his-marbles’ Vulcan.  
“Explain why you called me here at 8am, Spock,” Bones grumbled, trying not to fling the passing Starfleet commanders and captains out of his way.  
“I intend on forging a deal with Admiral Roche,” he replied coolly.  
“A deal?”  
“I want to find out where James is,” Spock and Bones entered a turbolift with other members of Starfleet. “Using that information, I want to mount a rescue,” he continued in a hushed tone.  
“A rescue? What makes you think Jim wants to be rescued?”  
“The day he was with Khan, on the Enterprise, I saw a side to him I’ve never seen before,” Spock looked at the others in the lift, carefully keeping the volume of their conversation to a low. “He might be under Khan’s influence somehow-”  
“-The only influence he’s under is Khan’s ability to fuck the sense right out of him,” Bones’ voice was getting dangerously louder, Spock noted as a few heads turned to face the pair.  
“Even so, he’s not in the right frame of mind.”

 

“You’re asking a lot from me gentlemen,” Roche sighed and leaned back in his chair. “James T. Kirk has been off radar for nearly a year-”  
“-And so has Khan, and his crazy ‘family’. You DO remember what happened to us and our ship?”  
Roche nodded. “I do, and it’s for that reason why I’m not sending you after a serial killer.”  
“But sir, Kirk has done so much for Starfleet,” Bones tried to say in a civil tone, in responce to the glare by the Vulcan. “He’s saved Starfleet countless times-”  
“-And there were countless times where he very near destroyed Starfleet,” Roche stood from his desk and walked around to the two men. “I cannot put anyone in danger, but should Khan ever resurface, I promise you’ll be the first to know.”

Spock and Bones made their way out of the door and walked back to the turbolift. Once inside and obstructed from Roche’s view, Spock turned to Bones, “Send a message to the others, tell them to meet us at the shipyard.”

 

*

 

Within a week setting out on the survey, Khan had returned with the other men. Once inside his home, he threw any of the desert clothes he had been wearing on the floor and made his way around the house looking for Kirk.  
He found him on the balcony again, staring at the cloudless skies, uncaring of the scorching heat that was around that day. “I’m aware we have slaves now,” he said, not even looking at Khan. “Slaves from _Earth_.”  
Khan sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I was going to tell you about those,”  
“Those?” Jim faced him. “You speak of them like their lives meaning nothing.”  
“That’s not what I meant,” Khan quickly replied. “They _are_ slaves, but you must understand I saved them from their previous lives.”  
“And what if they were slaves in their _previous lives_?”  
“Some are,” Khan had made his way behind Jim and wrapped his arms around Jim’s waist, bringing his back to Khan’s chest. “But they had a horrible standard of living. Here, they are cared for and I make sure they are treated the same.”  
“Not a few days ago, they weren’t.”  
Khan tensed slightly. “What do you mean?”  
“A few days ago I was talking to one of the girls that are here now,” he sighed and traced invisible patterns in Khan’s interlocking hands. “And the other augments looked at her like she had slapped me in the face.”  
Khan turned Jim around to face him, and he held his chin between his thumb and index finger. “They’re like that because they see you as their superior. Superiors...”  
“...Don’t talk to inferiors?” Jim raised an eyebrow.  
Khan smiled lightly. “Yes,” he kissed Jim on the lips, before pulling back. “If it bothers you, I’ll see to have it changed,” he murmured against Jim’s lips.  
“It _does_ bother me,” he replied.  
“Then consider it a thing of the past.”


	6. Soldiers and Puppeteers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Enterprise crew start to think about a rescue mission, while Jim has trouble trusting a certain Augment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this because I was vaguely listening to The Ivy Walls "All I Want" when, who pops up...Mr Christopher Pine. Yeah. Surprise of the week.  
> Check those guys out; amazing music and I cried so hard at that song...Poor Chris...
> 
> Anyway, onwards and upwards, Carol Marcus makes an appearance...And Rowan...Lets just let him be...Rowan...

“Jim’s alive?” Scotty nearly choked on his drink.   
“According to the all-knowing Vulcan he is,” Bones muttered, inclining his head towards Spock who was talking with Nyota on the other side of the room. _Plotting a rescue mission, no doubt_ , he thought.  
“If he’s alive and out there, then why aren’t we?!”   
“If Jim’s alive, and we don’t know that for certain,” Bones looked at Spock who met his glare. “Khan might be keeping him close-”  
“-If that psychopath is keeping him close, then Kirk will be able to kill him,” Hikaru said, watching each member of the Enterprise bustle around the small room where they agreed to meet. “Or at least stun him long enough for us to get into wherever it is he’s keeping him.”  
“If you have forgotten Sulu, Khan has armed himself with a wall of genetically modified super humans,” Nyota informed the men from the other side of the room. “The man is untouchable.”

The rest of the night was spent arguing over plans, and any plans that were plausible were shot down by another crew member for _being a danger to Jim’s safety_.  
Pavel, who was with Sulu in being silent through the whole thing, finally said, “What if the captain doesn’t want to be rescued.”  
Silence fell in the room. Bones put down his glass and looked at the ensign. “What?”  
“That day on the Enterprise, you all saw him too,” Chekov informed them. “He didn’t have any troubles with standing alongside Khan.”  
“He could be brainwashed,” Scotty retorted. “With that man, you never know.”  
“And if he’s not,” Sulu backed Pavel up. “What if he is in love with the augment?”  
“Then let him. If he wants to spend the rest of his days with a war criminal then-”  
“ENOUGH.”

Spock stood up abruptly from his seat, and glared around at the others. “James is alive. Khan is our enemy. We have been grounded for a year, and need a captain.”  
“I suggest you do it,” Nyota threaded her fingers through Spock’s. “Jim always said should anything happen to him, it would be your job to lead us.”  
He nodded. “Then we’re going.”  
“Going where, exactly?” Bones muttered. “We have no idea where Jim is.”  
“I might know someone who can get us the information.”

 

*

 

On one of the hottest days of Ceti Alpha V, Jim was once again on the balcony, leaning over the edge and watching the people below him.   
To his surprise, the augments had started to make the humans, to which Jim was shocked to know how many there actually were on this planet, their equals. He knew Khan had delivered the message several days ago, standing above them all on a small podium and explaining how change might make their lives better, if that was even plausible.   
Laila, at Khan’s request, was always at Jim’s side. Even on a day like this, she was bustling around the main room making sure everything was where it should be. “You don’t have to do that, you know,” Jim called from the balcony, not even bothering to look.  
“I know, but it’s what I spent the majority of my life doing,” she replied. “It’s just a habit I guess.”  
“Well, you’re with me now, so there’s no need,” he muttered while keeping an eye on one augment in particular.   
Rowan.  
Jim couldn’t put his finger on it, but whenever Khan had Rowan over to discuss plans, something about the man seemed off. Sometimes Jim would be passing the main room to get somewhere else, and he could feel the glare of Rowan on him as he walked past.

“Jim?” Laila joined him on the balcony. “Did you hear me?”  
“No,” he laughed. “My mind’s somewhere else. What did you say?”  
“It’s about the gathering,” she said. “I was asking about whether you wanted something done before anyone got here?”  
“It won’t be for another couple of days,” Jim smiled. “Nothing at the moment, but I’ll let you know.”

As Laila was turning to enter the house again, Jim called after her, “do you want to join me out here?”  
“Alright,” she cautiously walked onto the concrete floor of the balcony. Jim really had made this ledge his own place with little things that Khan had either found or had built, like the white-metal wind chimes and the desert flowers that wound around the balcony’s ledge.  
“Laila, you wouldn’t lie to me. Would you?” Jim said after a while of observing.  
“No, sir.”  
“You’d always tell me the truth. About everything?”  
“Of course.”  
Jim pushed back from the ledge, and looked at Laila. He often said he could tell if someone is lying just by looking at him. Although, he found he didn’t have to do that to Laila, she always told him the truth. He asked in a hushed voice, “What do you think of Rowan.”

“Master Rowan,” she began, but quickly began to stutter and it was as if she forgot how to talk altogether. “Master Rowan is a fair and just man. A good man, willing to put his life on the line-”  
“-Laila,” Jim stopped her and took her hands, to which she found where shaking slightly. “The truth.”  
“He’s...” she looked back to the door to the balcony and then to Jim. “He’s not what he appears to be.”

Jim ran his fingers over Laila’s knuckles. She sounded as though she was about to cry, and her first statement sounded painfully rehearsed. As if another person asked her for her opinion of him.  
Sensing Jim thinking, Laila looked up panicked, “don’t tell Master Khan I said-”  
“-Have I ever betrayed your trust?”  
She shook her head.

 

*

 

“Commander Spock?”  
“Carol,” he replied coolly. “I need a word.”  
She invited him into the apartment provided by Starfleet. When she stepped away from the door, he noticed she was slightly limping. “Recovering well?”  
“Yes,” she smiled. “Taking a bit longer than I expected.”

The two sat down in the living room, sitting opposite from each other. “I suspect you know why I’m here?”  
“James is missing, and you want to know if I know where he is.”  
“Correct,” he smiled. Finally getting somewhere.  
“Well, Mr. Spock I do know where your captain is,” she shuffled in her seat. “But I cannot reveal such information.”  
“Under whose orders?”  
“Not orders, Commander,” she said. “I was _asked_.”  
Spock sat up straighter. “James asked you-”  
“-He wanted to escape, but I knew where he was going. He asked me not to tell anyone.”

Spock leaned forward slightly. “I won’t make you tell me where he is, but I have to know Carol...Is he in danger?”  
“Not from Khan, if that’s what you’re presuming.”

 _Not from Khan?_ “There’s someone else?”  
“Another augment in Khan’s crew wasn’t thrilled about having his King mate with a _normal human_.”  
“What’s this augment’s name?”  
“Rowan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rowan...I'm sorry mate...Someone in this fic had to be the douche...
> 
> Once again, check out The Ivy Walls' song. Not just for the Pine, mind you...I've been listening to it nonstop for nearly a month...


	7. Asking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim asks Laila for her advice, and Spock does the same with Carol.

It was a rare occasion for Jim to be awake during the night, and for Khan to be sleeping.

The silence of the nights of Ceti Alpha V were deafening, and occasionally the faint footsteps of an augment were all Jim had to keep him reminded that he was awake.

Jim was lying on side facing Khan, tracing his eyes over the sweat-covered chest and messed hair. After the gathering that was held in the city’s centre, Jim had decided that he and Khan haven’t been spending that much time together. The blond spent the entire proceeding murmuring into Khan’s ear, tracing the outline of his chest or slipping his hand underneath the table.  
“Do you realise this is an extremely important gathering of our people?” Khan muttered, loud enough for just them to hear.   
“Do you realise I am an _extremely_ impatient man?” Jim smirked.

Making some excuse about contacting another race, or something utterly ridiculous, Khan had dragged Jim away back to their house and from then on, the only sounds were harsh breaths, moans and the occasional threat from Khan which Jim just laughed at.

Khan had drifted off to sleep after they were both spent, but Jim’s mind decided against sleep and opted for thinking. Three or so hours later, he was still wide awake and thinking, not being able to shut his brain up.

Sighing at his last attempt to fall asleep, he gently pulled the blankets off, careful not to disturb the sleeping augment next to him. When his bare feet hit the floor, something about him seemed...off. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he still attempted to stand and gather a shirt and trousers, then a thick blanket from the end of the bed to wrap around himself.

Wandering through the house with no real destination in mind, he decided that he would see if Laila was still around. True, it was the very early hours of the morning, but she was always awake and doing something. In fact, Jim doesn’t think he’s ever seen her sleep.

He found her outside on the balcony threading her fingers through the wind chimes that were gently clinking off each other. She tensed as she heard his footsteps on the steps up to the ledge, but smiled when she saw the ruffled blonde hair and blood-shot eyes. “Can’t sleep?”  
“Yep,” he groaned. “Whatever’s wrong with me.”  
“It could be one of those nights. Everyone has them.”  
Murmuring in agreement, Jim sat down in one of the large chairs, inviting Laila to join him.

They talked for a bit, laughing over things they remembered about Earth, Laila telling stories of the previous planets that she worked on. It was when Jim scrunched his eyes and wrapped an arm around his stomach that Laila stopped talking and turned to face him. “What’s wrong?”  
“Just a pain in my stomach,” he sighed. “It’ll be fine. It always wears off after a few minutes.”  
“You’ve had it before?”  
“Yeah,” he explained. “Pretty recently.”  
“Lie back,” she got up and motioned for him to sprawl across the chair and lift up his shirt. “Do you mind?”  
“Not at all,” pulling it up gently, Jim followed her gaze, trying to figure out what she was looking for exactly.

Laila warmed her hands before placing them gently on Jim’s stomach, starting just below his ribcage and pressing down. “Tell me if it hurts,” she said, pressing down on his skin every so often. He felt fine until she got to the skin below his stomach, then his breath hitched. “There.”

Laila stopped pressing and then began running her hands gently over his lower stomach, and over his hipbones, all the while muttering something too quietly for Jim to hear. Whenever he asked her what was wrong, she just looked at him and continued to feel around.

“What’s going on here?” Khan’s voice came from the door to the balcony, cutting through the peaceful silence. Laila jerked her hands away and tried to explain, but Jim beat her to it.  
“I’ve been getting bad stomach pains and I asked her to check them out,” he fixed his shirt and went over to kiss him. “Don’t worry about it.”  
Khan nodded. “Go back to our room, and try and get some sleep before the sun rises.  I want a word with her.”

Before Jim left he flashed a look back to Laila, who looked terrified of the augment even though he made it clear there really wasn’t any reason to be.  
The door closed behind Jim and Khan sighed. “Stomach pains?”  
“Yes sir.”  
“Is he getting sick?”  
“I,” she stuttered. “I don’t know. He only came to me about this a few minutes ago.”

Catching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, Khan whispered, “if he comes to you again about that, you come to me.”  
“Yes sir.”  
“Good,” Khan took a few minutes to compose himself again. “Now, go to your quarters and get some sleep. Take the morning off if you want.”  
“Thank you, sir.”

 

*

 

Carol was sitting on the window ledge, watching the civilians below, vaguely listening to Spock and Bones.  
“Carol, if Jim is in danger we need to go,” Bones explained. “Surely that reason alone overrides some promise you two made.”  
Carol didn’t answer, but pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her fists and leaned against the window.  
Bones turned to Spock and shrugged, obviously not going to get much out of her. Spock stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We only want to protect him.”  
“He has the other augments to protect him,” she said emotionlessly. “One in 72 might not be a problem, especially with Khan by his side.”  
“And if the others revolt against Khan and Jim?” Bones remarked, then continuing to pace around the apartment. “What then? He’ll be dead within minutes.”

Carol winced at that. It was perfectly plausible; Rowan was a very dangerous man...when he wanted to be. But he had proved himself loyal to Khan for years. Carol knew he’d follow Khan to Hell and back.   
“If I tell you where Jim is,” she said. “You’ll try and take him back. Take him away from someone like Khan,” Carol looked at the two men. “You’ll start a war.”  
“How ironic-”  
“-McCoy,” Spock barked at the doctor. Leonard rolled his eyes and retreated.  
“It’s alright Spock,” Carol said. “But...you do understand what I’m trying to say?”  
“I do,” Spock agreed, ignoring the loud annoyed sigh from the doctor. “Do you understand what we’re trying to say?”  
Carol managed a small smile and agreed. “Then we’re at a deadlock?”  
“It would seem that way.”

 

*

 

Nyota was flicking through the various PADDs scattered across the large coffee table in the middle of the room. The other crew members were asleep, apart from Hikaru who was doing the same with a PADD showing the various human inhabited planets that wither the Enterprise or the Federation had investigated.

“Find anything?” he asked when Nyota huffed a sigh and leaned back into the chair.  
“Nothing,” she said. “Honestly, how do seventy-three people just vanish from radar?”  
“Space is a big place,” he sighed. “And most of it is uncharted.”

Groaning at that simple fact, Nyota tried again. “Well, he has to be somewhere.”  
“If Spock and McCoy can get something out of Carol, then we could use that to narrow our search.”  
“True,” she agreed. “And if not, I’ll kill the woman.”

Hikaru laughed at that. “I’ve been thinking,” he said when his gaze went to Chekov who was sound asleep at the other side of the room. “What if Pavel’s right? About Jim being in love with Khan?”  
“Would it surprise you? Of course that man would fall into the bed of a psychopath,” Nyota grumbled. “Sometimes I just wonder.”  
“And if Spock’s right?” Nyota looked up. “What if he’s been...hypnotised?”  
“Then I’ll snap him out of it,” she muttered.

Hikaru went back to flicking through the various planets, then narrowing his search to planets that people were exiled to. Still finding nothing.  
He flung it carelessly onto the table and yawned. “I’m going to get some sleep,” he walked over to Nyota and put his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m sure Spock’ll find something.”

 

*

 

Carol made her way into the small kitchen, closely followed by Spock. Bones had given up on the conversation and headed home for some sleep, disgruntled and more annoyed than usual. “He only cares about James,” Spock explained. “As do I.”   
“I know,” she sighed. “He was a good friend to you both. To all of you.”  
“Carol, I said before I won’t make you tell me where James is, and I won’t,” Spock said calmly. “But he has been like family to all of us, and I cannot stand by while he’s out there somewhere in possible danger.”

Carol gave a small nod and sighed. “He’s on a small planet in the Ceti Alpha System,” she murmured. Just as Spock was about to leave she grabbed his wrist, “Make sure he’s safe, but don’t take him away.”

Spock agreed to that, but Carol continued, “Jim loves Khan, and Khan loves Jim so please...Don’t disturb that,” she walked by his side until they got to the door. “Before you go, I want to ask; would you say your times on the Enterprise were dangerous? Hard?”  
“Sometimes, why do you ask such a question?”  
“One of the hardest things in life, dear Spock, is watching the person you love, love someone else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote at the end is a real quote, but from where, I can't remember... I had to use it somehow so...Yeah...


	8. And I Will Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to basing stuff on songs again...If any of you haven't heard the AMAZINGNESS that is Dame Evelyn Glennie during the London 2012 Olympics, then get yourself to YouTube and search "And I Will Kiss". It's the national anthem for Khan's city...Because I'm a psychopath :)

Seeing Khan so unaware of his surrounding, seeing him so unfocused, Rowan left Meryn and their quickly growing daughter to join him. Khan seemed collected and strolled around the streets with the same monarchical presence, overseeing the lives of the other augments and their children. Rowan had to think of his approach to the other augment; their last meeting didn’t end well, and Rowan hadn’t spoken to him since.

But he’s an observant person, as are the others. He’s been watching his _king_ and his consort strolling around the streets, at the gatherings that were held. Kirk is trying to worm his way into Khan’s mind and change him. It left Rowan furious.

“Master Khan,” Rowan said trying to look civil.   
“Rowan.”  
“May I have a word?”  
“If you must,” Khan sighed. “But make it quick.”  
“Your consort-” Khan rolled his eyes and started continued walking down the street. “-He hasn’t been making appearances since the gathering last week. May I ask where our beloved monarch’s lover is?”  
The question seemed to glide over Khan’s mind. Rowan was about to ask it again when he finally answered, “I didn’t think you of all people cared about the location and well-being of James.”  
“I don’t care about _his_ well-being,” Rowan grumbled. “I care about yours, and that of our family.”  
“Our family now includes James,” Khan said simply.

Rowan, obviously knowing that he wasn’t going to get another word out of Khan, started to move away when he felt his wrist be caught in a grasp. “I will say this about my consort, Rowan,” Khan jerked him forward so he was talking in the augment’s ear. “If I see you near him, I’ll have you strangled in your sleep. Do I make myself clear?”  
“Yes sir.”

 

*

 

That night was spent with Khan sitting at the end of the bed, hunched over with his face cradled in his hands. It suddenly occurred to him: Rowan was going to be a problem. A major one at that.

Khan had already presumed Jim would fall pregnant, it was inevitable. He had always planned to tell Jim about the chances, but he always put it off for something different. Khan knew now, of course, he would have to tell Jim. It would be better than him finding out himself. But according to Laila, Jim hasn’t been getting these pains for long. Maybe the man isn’t pregnant, or maybe he’s incredibly stubborn and has been getting them long before, and never revealing. He’s a strong man, incapable of showing weakness.

But now Khan was thinking. Thinking and worrying. Every scenario ran through Khan’s mind like a video; revealing the news to their people, what Rowan would be capable of if he had the support of only a few other augments, should they have a child, would Starfleet get word and send in parties of officers to drag Jim and their child back to the Federation and leave Khan here.

Khan felt physically sick, which was strange for someone with his superiority. He pushed all of the negatives aside, vowing that should Starfleet come, they’ll never get the chance to leave.

While his mind was still trying to settle itself, he flinched when he felt the sheets shift behind him, and Jim appeared behind him, hooking his chin over Khan’s shoulder.   
“What are you doing up?” he mumbled sleepily, wrapping his arms around Khan’s middle.   
Khan tried to answer, but felt his jacket fall off his shoulders, followed by open-mouthed kisses down his neck. “James-”  
“Mmm?”  
“I need to tell you something,” Khan tried to unwind Jim’s locked arms and pull away from him.  
“Surely it can wait until the morning?”  
“No, it can’t.”

Acknowledging defeat, Jim sits back onto the bed, giving Khan the space he needed. “What is it?”  
“What...” Khan would have to be careful about this. “...What would you think about children?”  
“Why would you ask that?”  
“I just want to know.”  
“I like kids, if that’s what you wanted to hear,” Jim looked completely bewildered.  
“What would you think about having your own children?”  
“I wouldn’t be against it.”

Khan’s heart slowed down slightly. This was good, but he couldn’t let his guard down just yet.  
“Khan, what are you trying to say?”   
His guard skyrocketed back up again. The way Jim said that made his stomach turn; he was apprehensive about whatever was about to come out of Khan’s mouth, and completely confused about this whole conversation.  
“If I was to say we could have children,” Khan took one of Jim’s hands and ran his fingers over the knuckles. “Would your opinion be the same?”

Jim didn’t say anything. Jim didn’t move. In fact, Khan was pretty certain Jim wasn’t even breathing. After a painfully long minute, Jim placed his free hand on the side of Khan’s face, cradling it. “It would.”

Khan’s heart skipped a beat. “Are you trying to tell me I’m pregnant with your child?”  
“You _may_ be pregnant with my child,” Khan corrected.   
“So...Laila?”  
“Laila was my envoy. When you started to go to her about your stomach pains, I thought...” Khan broke off there, knowing Jim would have caught on by now. “But there is a possibility it may be something else, so we’re not going to jump to conclusions. Alright?”  
Jim nodded and made his way back up the bed to go back underneath the blankets. He was about to fall asleep when he felt the bed dip underneath Khan’s weight and the strong arms of the augment wrap around him, pressing his chest on Kirk’s back.  
Jim couldn’t help himself smiling from ear to ear, almost on the verge of laughing. Khan sensed this and whispered, “Is there a reason to you grinning like an idiot.”  
“Imagine our child,” he said simply.   
“Oh I can,” Khan mused.   
“Seriously,” Jim flipped over to face Khan. “He, or she, will be the leader of a civilisation of genetically modified superhumans, being the most feared leader in the Ceti Alpha planetary system...Maybe even further than that.”  
“You’d want our child to conquer? Be a feared tyrant?” Khan couldn’t help but smirk. Jim did have a point; the child of Khan Noonien Singh and James T. Kirk at the front of an army of augmented humans. It was almost humorous to think of what enemies would do, or even if they would have any enemies.

“I think our child would be like you,” Jim brushed some of Khan’s black hair off his face. “Our child would conquer for the right reasons; to protect family, to keep the peace.”  
Khan nodded, and kissed Jim on the lips. “And if it turns out you’re not pregnant?”  
“Then I’d have another reason to get you into this bed,” Jim smirked. He goddamn _smirked_ , and Khan would kill him.

 

*

 

“The Ceti Alpha System,” Spock announced once the door to his apartment opened. The other crew members who had been sleeping jolted awake.   
“Excuse me?” asked Nyota, who by the look of her, seemed to be awake all night.  
“That’s where James is,” Spock nudged the others awake so they would take this valuable information on board. “The Ceti Alpha System.”  
“And who told you that?” McCoy grumbled while he draped on arm over his eyes, shielding him from the early morning sun peering in through the window shades.  
“Carol Marcus.”  
“And you believe her?” Nyota said. “What if she’s lying? She could be sending us to some godforsaken planarity system at the edge of the nebula.”  
“She’s not,” Chekov said from the other side of the room, flicking through a PADD. “Starfleet has sent convicted criminals there in previous years-”  
“-But Khan was never convicted, he fled weeks before his trial,” Sulu retorted. “And the Ceti Alpha System is a series of desolate planets one after the other. Why would Khan choose such a place to settle?”  
“Maybe he knows it’s somewhere we wouldn’t look,” Spock said. “If it has a reputation for being harsh and desolate, then we would disregard it and move onto another system.”

The crew looked at each other then at Spock. “What do you propose Captain?”   
“If we do intend on getting James back, it will have to be delicate. Firstly, we cannot board a ship and leave without some form of a legitimate reason: it would bring to much attention. Secondly, James could be close to Khan. Too close. If that is the case, then we would need some form of way to communicate with _just_ James; we need to be able to talk to him, and figure out why he left.”

Every member of the crew were nodding, taking in everything Spock was saying and then applying roles to each other. “If you want to get Jim alone,” Nyota said. “I could negotiate with the augments into getting me into wherever it is Jim is.”

“Good,” Spock nodded. “Sulu, you and Chekov will be doing research on the system. Find out everything; its terrain, its climate, I want to know about every rock, cave and crevasse on those planets.”  
“Yes sir,” Chekov and Sulu said simultaneously.   
“The rest of you are to be prepared for action. We don’t know when exactly we can go, or how long we have to assemble. So be ready to respond.”  
“Yes captain.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have no idea how much I loved writing this chapter. Freaking L.O.V.E.D it x) All hail the Over-Protective-Badass-Khan at the start of this chapter. He'll be making a re-appearance ;D


	9. So, Here we go Again?

Another early morning for Jim Kirk who hadn’t been able to get to sleep since that night where Khan revealed he could possibly be pregnant. It wasn’t the stomach pains that were keeping him awake, it was nerves. To be honest, Jim was terrified; happy, but terrified. He hardly knew his father, and he wasn’t the most ideal child to look after. So the fact that he would have to look after a child that would be growing inside of him was the scariest thing Jim had ever been faced with. And he was captain of the USS Enterprise for nearly seven years.

Giving up on sleep again, he sought refuge in any other part of the house, then stopping halfway through the main room when he looked out the lancet windows. The night sky never ceased to amaze him. He remembers the first time he arrived on this planet; miserable and weak, clinging onto his sanity after being locked in a pod with seventy-two other people for what seemed to be years. It was weeks after when their home was built, that Khan led him up onto the balcony and showed him the vast, open night sky, with the stars dotted over the black canvas. He had never felt happier.

Tugging the blanket that he had grabbed from their room tightly around him, he thought about braving the cold night air, but decided against it when a pair of arms came out of the darkness and wrapped around his waist.  
“You do realise it’s incredibly saddening to wake up to an empty bed?” Khan said, trailing kisses down the shell of Jim’s ear down to the joining of his neck and shoulder. Jim just smiled and leaned back into the embrace, threading his fingers in Khan’s and tilting his neck so the augment had better access.  
“Oh, my poor soldier,” Jim smirked. “It must have been terrible.”  
“It was,” Khan tugged the blanket Jim had been holding from his hands and let it tumble to the floor. “I was starting to worry that I was going to have to go out and find myself someone else worthy of being my consort.”  
“If you ever did, I’d kill you,” Jim replied, trying to sound serious but failing when Khan’s hands went to Jim’s stomach. “But I guess he’s our reason to stay together.”  
“Or she.”  
Jim laughed. “Or she,” he agreed. He leaned his head back into Khan’s shoulder and sighed, “Do you think I’m really carrying your child?”  
“It may be a possibility,” Khan said. “Have you been getting stomach pains?”  
“Yes.”  
“Have you been getting sick?”  
“Sometimes; when I get up usually.”

Khan mumbled against Jim’s neck, “then, yes, you may be carrying my child.”  
Jim smiled. “But?”  
“But we need to be certain before we tell the others.”

Jim’s smile faded and a cold feeling started to creep into his heart. Khan sensed that sudden change and pulled his head away from Jim’s neck. “They’ll be overjoyed, my love. Don’t worry.”  
“What if they’re not,” Jim turned in Khan’s grasp. “What if they’re disgusted?”  
“Disgusted?”  
“You see the way some of them stare at us; the king of the superior beings wasting his time with a normal human,” Jim’s voice was on the verge of breaking. “I don’t deserve you-”  
Khan cut off the blond by cradling his cheek in his hand and kissing him forcefully, but lovingly.

When they broke away, Jim was gasping for air, having his eyes bore into by Khan’s. “Don’t ever say that,” he said.   
Jim nodded and hung his head, almost ashamed that he’d even let himself think that. Khan’s family had welcomed him with open arms, and when Jim said it was ‘some augments’ he knew it was Rowan in particular. At first, the man was civil and nice, but he changed. As Khan began to love Jim, he saw Rowan become cold and hate-filled.

It had gotten to the point where Jim had to ask whether Khan and Rowan had been in a relationship before Khan had met Jim. Khan had always said no, and no more was spoken on the matter. But it always ate away at Jim’s mind whenever he saw Rowan glaring at the pair whenever they were together.

Khan hooked a finger under Jim’s chin and made him look into his green eyes, “I love you. Do you understand?”  
“Yes, I love you too. With all my heart.”  
Khan sighed. “I’d kill for you, James. I suspect I’ll have to someday.”

 

*

 

“Our King’s whore might be pregnant,” Rowan grumbled, leaning his chin into his fist. Meryn, who had returned from putting their daughter to sleep had entered the room, and sighed loudly.   
“Good,” she said simply. “Khan will be a good father, so will Jim.”  
“Are you mad?” Rowan glared at his wife. “We can’t be led by a augmented hybrid; not me, not you, not our children nor our grandchildren.”  
“You’re overreacting,” Meryn sat opposite Rowan. “So what if the child isn’t a full augment? It will have to loving parents who will teach it leadership, and maybe get us off this wasteland of a planet.”

Rowan gave up on trying to sway Meryn to see his side, and stood up abruptly from the table.  
“Rowan,” she barked just as he was at the door. “You leave Khan alone, as well as Jim and their child.”  
Rowan didn’t answer, but continued walking down the hall, slamming the door behind him.

 

*

 

Khan was the first to wake after he had led Jim back to bed. To be honest, he didn’t go to sleep, he like watching the blond be truly peaceful. Being a gentle as he could, he brushed some of Jim’s blond hair from his face and kissed his forehead before disappearing to find Laila.  
“Master Khan,” she said after entering the kitchen.   
“Laila, I was wondering if you would look after Jim today. See to his stomach?”  
She nodded. “Of course. Anything else?”  
“No, that’s all,” Khan let her continue with whatever she was doing. Even though he felt he didn’t show it, he was thankful Laila was here. He had told the girl on multiple occasions that there wasn’t any reason for her to fear him, regardless that people had told her that Khan was her superior.

Khan returned to their room. Pulling on the black overcoat, he got one last glance at Jim, who was now lying on his side, wrapping his arms around his middle, where their child would be growing.   
Khan smiled and went over to Jim and kissed his cheek. “I love you,” he whispered and gently closed the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooooooooooh, do I spy a KhanXRowan ship? That ship sunk like a rock...James T. Kirk is here now, bitch.


	10. This is a Revolution

When Khan returned to the house after his daily surveying, he was met by Laila who was folding some towels and putting away some of the doctor’s things. Khan raised an eyebrow, “He’s here?”  
“Just finished actually,” she replied. “Jim is in the kitchen. He said he wants to talk to you.”  
“About?”  
Laila just shrugged and picked up the bag belonging to the doctor and ushering him out of the door.

Khan powered through the house, mind and heart racing. Jim was holding a cup of tea that Laila often made for him to calm him down and make him sleep. Khan came up behind him; he didn’t reach out to touch him. Maybe he was terrified to, or maybe Jim didn’t want to be touched right now. Either way, Khan cleared his throat, “Laila said you wanted to speak with me?”  
Jim nodded, still facing away. “The doctor was here.”  
“I heard,” Khan replied. “Did he say anything about...?”

Khan trailed off, trying to be careful. If Jim wasn’t pregnant, he could be disappointed: the man had his heart set on being a dad.

“He did,” Jim turned to face Khan, and then got to his feet. He didn’t say anything, he didn’t smile nor frown, and quite frankly Khan’s heart was about to burst through his chest.   
“Well?” his voice shook.  
Jim looked up at Khan, took his hand and placed it on his middle, erupting into a smile.   
“You’re...”  
“Yes,” he laughed.

Silence fell between the two. Well, Jim was laughing lightly, and Khan remained speechless.   
“Don’t have anything to say?” Jim mused, with that trademark smirk plastered across his face.  
Khan smiled and shook his head, then leaned down to kiss Jim on the lips, wrapping his arms around him.

“You know,” Jim broke the kiss, and mumbled against his lips. “There’s a lot of stuff to do before this baby arrives.”  
Khan shrugged. “We’ll be fine.”

 

*

 

Leonard was in his med-office when a knock came from the door. McCoy’s heart missed a beat as he cleared the papers relating to their plans to get Jim back. The door opened and Carol peered around, “It’s only me.”

Leonard calmed down a bit, but still packed away the papers; he didn’t care what the green-blooded hobgoblin said, he didn’t trust Carol. He inclined his head at a chair facing him from the other side of the desk and locked the desk drawers. “What are you doing here?”  
“I just wanted to see how the plans were going,” she replied, sitting down on the chair, looking very uncomfortable in the doctor’s presence.   
“Then ask the Vulcan,” he grumbled. “You know you won’t get a lot out of me, Marcus.”

Carol nodded understandingly. “I know, but still,” she continued. “I’m just worried-”  
“-About us or about your ex?”  
“About all of you.”

 McCoy leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “Well, if you’re concerned then you are entitled to know we still haven’t located Jim.”  
“Understandable. The Ceti Alpha System is a large planetary system; it could take months to find him...years even.”  
“We don’t exactly have _months_ or _years_ ,” McCoy glared at the woman. “We have weeks, at best.”  
“Before?”  
“Ha, wouldn’t you like to know,” he laughed.

Carol looked around the room, surveying everything; the doctor’s degrees, his personal pictures, medical equipment at hand should there be an accident around the facility. She sighed, and looked at McCoy, “Where’s Spock?”  
“Not enjoying my company, Marcus?”  
“Not particularly,” she said, standing from the chair. “I’d rather talk to someone _civil_.”  
“He’s probably with that she-wolf Nyota, if not; he’d be in one of the science departments.”

She thanked Leonard, before turning out the door and spotting Chekov and Sulu walking down the corridor. They Sulu made eye contact first, and then nudged the Ensign, whispering something into his ear. Probably _don’t talk to her_ or _don’t even look at her_. Either way, the two men just walked past her, eyes locked on the pathway infront of them or at each other, talking continuously.

“Carol.”  
She turned to see Spock coming down the corridor; hands clasped behind his back, smiling warmly at the woman. “I did not expect to see you here.”  
“I was just talking to McCoy,” she replied, inclining her head at the door. “I was actually on my way to find you.”  
“Why?”  
“I wanted to know how your search was coming along.”

The two started to walk slowly, talking about their plans for the future and how they were going to pull this off, if they got the chance. Nyota, Sulu, and Chekov had been working every day and night trying to filter through past Starfleet records and learning every single detail about the planets in the system, trying to plot out a course.  
McCoy, according to Spock, was researching about the augments themselves. He’s become fascinated by them; how they’re physically and mentally superior, how they can heal themselves, how they can withstand pain. It suddenly became more important than his actual work.

Spock and Nyota were the only people who Carol could hold a conversation with; the others shrugged her off as being _too close to Starfleet_. She understood their reluctance to tell her anything; she did get onto the Enterprise under an alias, only to be revealed as the daughter of the man who started the whole issue with the augments in the first place.

 “Carol, I must ask you something,” Spock said and stopped walking. “Would you be willing to accompany us on our mission to find Jim?”

Carol’s voice left her as she stood there open-mouthed, trying to form words. She wanted to go, of course, and help Jim’s family. But at the same time, Jim had a new family, and had asked her- _begged_ her- to keep his location a secret.

Spock raised an eyebrow, hoping for a response.

“Yes, of course,” she said, not in control of the words leaving her mouth.

“But Spock,” she stopped the Vulcan before he walked away. “I need you to promise me that you won’t take him away from there if he doesn’t want to leave. Also, I want you to promise that no harm will come on the augments. They’re like you and the other crew members: they want to protect him, keep him safe.”

Spock took a deep breath and answered, “I promise.”

 

*

 

Jim lay on his side, Khan behind him with his arms engulfing the blond. He couldn’t help but smile; all day, Khan had ceased every available moment to touch his stomach, feel their child. It was too early to feel anything, of course. But still, it was a nice thought.

Even now, Khan had wandered into their room, pushed up the blonde’s shirt and just rubbed his middle, kissing his neck. “I love you,” he would often say against Jim’s skin.   
“I know,” he sighed, looking out the window at the setting sun, lighting their room with a soft orange glow. “Can I go to sleep now?” he smiled.

Jim had been exhausted all day, and was hoping to get some sleep. But that was until a certain augment sauntered into the room and started caressing his stomach.

“Of course,” Khan kissed the back of his head, nuzzling into Jim’s hair.

Jim was dragged down into a deep sleep as soon as he said those words. Khan, however, just looked at Jim, then down to his middle. Gently untangling himself from Jim’s back, he crept down to place a small kiss to his stomach, then heading out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BABY ON THE WAY. MCCOY HAS TRUST ISSUES. CAROL IS A SAD FLOWER. SPOCK MAKES A PROMISE....There you go; chapter 10 summed up in 17 words.


	11. I'll watch your Empire fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day :D

 

  
**"** _Will it ever cross your mind? I'm the man you'll never be!_

_Think about me when you're all alone, without someone to love **[** you're out there on your own **]**_

_Am I gonna be the last one standing?_

_How's it gonna feel when I'm on top?_

_I guess I'll watch you walk away, then let your Empire crumble!_

 

_You decide what's next for us!_

_Over and over, you sold me out!_

_You decide what's next for us!_

_Over and over, bending and breaking_ **!"**

**-**   **'You wear a Crown, but you're no King'** by **BlessTheFall**

 

 

“Master Khan,” Rowan drawled. “Fancy seeing you out here, so far away from your consort.”

Rowan was looking down on the city on an overhanging cliff-face, sitting in the red sand drawing shapes and symbols absentmindedly while Khan trudged up behind him.

“I want to talk to you,” he said almost emotionlessly, but in a strong voice that almost made Rowan jump.

“As I presumed you might,” Rowan replied, turning his head slightly to catch Khan in the corner of his eye, just keeping an eye on his movements. After all, out here, Khan could easily kill him.

“In relation to my consort,” Khan ignored the scoff given by Rowan. “I intend to marry him in accordance to our laws. He is indeed carrying my child, and remain protected by those I deem loyal enough. In relation to _you_ , my old friend,” Khan took a few steps towards Rowan, who tensed slightly and locked his eyes forward. “I made it clear weeks beforehand that I don’t want you near him, but now. Now Rowan, that it has been made clear to me that you intended to put a stop to my reign,” Khan stood directly behind Rowan’s now trembling body. He was dead. “I wouldn’t feel happy with you running around _my_ city plotting my demise.”

Rowan sucked in a breath before stammering to his feet. “In due respect, my lord, I would never plot _your_ demise,” Rowan spoke with sincerity, but Khan could see through those hazel eyes. “Only that of your whore.”

Something inside Khan’s mind snapped. He threw a punch across Rowan’s face, snapping it to the side. Although it was true augments didn’t injure easily as normal humans, but a dark blue bruise did make its way under Rowan’s cheekbone. While recovering from the shock of the first punch, Rowan had barely enough time to brace himself for the blow to the stomach.

Khan stood back, watching Rowan fall to his knees clutching his stomach and couch up specks of blood. The anger was still running rampant through Khan’s mind though, and he kicked up to Rowan’s chin, knocking him backwards and surely shattering something in his jaw.

Walking around the augment, Khan surveyed his work as Rowan tried to flip himself onto his stomach and crawl away. Grabbing his foot and dragging him backwards, Khan then shot a hand to clutch Rowan’s throat, bringing him close enough for Khan to growl, “If you ever threaten Jim again, there isn’t a person alive in this universe that could devise a more painful death.”

Khan released his grip on Rowan’s throat and the augment fell back onto the red sand with a grimace. Khan rubbed some of Rowan’s blood of his hands and walked away, saying “don’t even bother coming back, Rowan. Find somewhere else to live.”

“You’ll pay for this, Khan!” Rowan spluttered, wiping the blood from his mouth. “One day, I will return and burn you, your family and your city to the ground. I’ll be king of those ashes Khan!”

 

*

 

Jim was still asleep when Khan returned into the house. Slipping off his black overcoat and throwing it over onto a chair, Khan watched his lover toss in his sleep, still having a hand wrapped around his stomach. Not wanting to disturb him, Khan gently crept into the blankets,  and wrapped himself around Jim, who leaned back into Khan’s grasp.

“Where were you?” Jim mumbled sleepily.

“I just had to deal with something,” he replied. “It shouldn’t be a problem anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I only wrote this chapter as a reason for Khan to beat the crap out of Rowan.....What?......He deserves it *looks around ashamed*...*not really*...
> 
> By the way, Khan mentions someone told him about Rowan's plans to kill Khan and Jim....I wonder who it could be.....Hmmmm?


	12. Alone

Jim woke the next morning to a warm body behind him, a churning stomach and a splintering headache. Squinting against the morning sun, Jim tried to unlatch Khan’s arms from around his middle, then nuzzling into the augment’s chest.

“Morning,” Khan mumbled into the blonde’s hair.   
“Mmm,” was his only response. Khan just smiled and rubbed Jim’s back with his hand. “Do you feel sick?”  
“Absolutely,” he groaned into Khan’s chest.   
“Oh my love, my heart aches for you,” he sniggered, rubbing Jim’s back as soothingly as he could.   
Jim lifted his head from Khan’s chest to glare at him. “You’re the one who did this to me,” he said, ignoring the laugh given by Khan. _I’ll kill him_ , he thought.

The two just lay there; Khan was thinking about the events of the night before, Jim about to drift off to sleep again. He was awakened by Khan slightly tensing. “What?”  
“What?” he replied.   
“You’re worried about something,” Jim looked into the augment’s green eyes.   
“It’s nothing.”  
“Khan,” he cupped the side of his face with one hand. “Tell me.”

The augment sighed and moved upwards on the bed, leaning his back against the headboard, then letting Jim follow suit. “Last night, I met Rowan out on the cliff-face, just outside the city walls,” Khan said, avoiding Jim’s eyes. “He was getting too powerful, too paranoid. I wanted him out of the city, so-”  
“-So you asked him nicely?” Jim couldn’t help but smirk.   
“Initially, yes. But he started to talk ill of you,” Khan brushed some of Jim’s hair from his face, and kissed his forehead. “Something inside me snapped. I couldn’t control myself; the anger took over, and I just left him there.”

Jim nodded understandably. He knew Khan had a short temper, especially when it came to Jim. Combine that with Khan’s strength and you had a time bomb waiting to explode. Usually, Khan _could_ in fact control himself, but those were the times when Jim was around, holding his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, reminding him that he was still with _him_.

“Rowan won’t return that much is clear. In the mean time, I need to explain what’s happened to Meryn-”  
“-Don’t worry, I’ll do that,” Jim interrupted. “I’ll talk to her, and see if she wants help with the baby.”

Khan smiled at Jim. “You’re a true leader, do you know that?”  
Jim shrugged. “I was a captain of a ship for a few years; you tend to learn a few things.”

 

*

 

Rowan trudged through the sand of the desert; heated by the sun, with no shelter to be found for miles. Rowan pulled the hood of his jacket over his forehead, covering his eyes so he could see ahead. Off in the distance, there were blurred shapes. He initially thought it could have been Khan’s city, and maybe he had circled back. But this was wall-less, open to the desert and very primitive. Although it was too far away too see anything properly, Rowan headed for the horizon.

Rowan looked like a shadow of his former self; his dark brown hair was tossed and drenched in sweat, his was sure his jaw was broken (if not fractured), his stomach could be haemorrhaging, but Rowan’s mind was so scrambled his couldn’t tell.

He’ll kill Khan; tear the man apart piece by piece. But he couldn’t, not in his current state, and certainly not alone.

 

*

 

Meryn was shocked to see Jim standing outside the door to her house, and invited the man in. “What are you doing out here?”  
“I wanted to talk to you, actually,” he smiled at the woman who was holding her daughter in one arm and carrying a small bag in another. “Here,” Jim offered to take the child, who was more than willing to crawl into the blonde’s arms.   
“If I didn’t think any better, I’d say she was _your_ child Jim,” Meryn laughed.

She invited Jim to sit down on one of the couches, letting the girl onto the floor to play with the various toys littered around. “What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

Jim took a deep breath, planning what to say. In fact, he mental cursed at himself for not planning all of this on his way here.

“It’s about Rowan,” he started. “Khan believed that he...he was getting paranoid, and it would threaten the safety of the city.”  
“I know,” Meryn sighed, watching her daughter. “He was often talking about Khan...and you.”  
“What did he say about me?”  
“He didn’t trust you,” she replied. “Didn’t think you were capable enough for your rank. He didn’t think you were fit for a place beside Khan...”  
“But Rowan thought that he was?”

Meryn brushed some of her black hair behind her ear, and looked at Jim who had a confused look plastered across his face. “Before our engagement, Khan and Rowan had a friendship that was strong enough to overcome everything. They were practically brothers. But as the years went on, it developed into a more...serious relationship. It wasn’t love, but it wasn’t lust neither...something...in between.”  
“What happened?”  
“Starfleet started to hunt us, kill as many of us off as possible. To keep up our numbers, Khan said we should start to have children, they would age quickly,” Meryn gestured to her daughter. “And they would help us fight against Marcus and Starfleet.”

Jim nodded, prompting Meryn to continue. “So, Rowan was paired with me. He was a good man, really, he was. But I heard the conversations he had with Khan. He said it was a treacherous move against their love. Khan, of course, said they didn’t have anything between them, and it was for the good of the people. After we were unfrozen from our sleep, Rowan and I married, and Rowan chose to forget about Khan,” Meryn took Jim’s hand. “That’s when you came along.”

“...The Enterprise-” Jim looked at the woman, wide-eyed.   
“When Rowan saw Khan’s love for you, something inside him changed. He _remembered_ ,” Meryn gently stroked Jim’s knuckles. “He hated that Khan had fallen in love with an ‘ _inferior being_ ’, he wished it was him up there with Khan. But he was already a husband and a father.”

Jim sat there, speechless. Minutes were spent trying to make sense of the story Meryn had just told him.

“You should realise, Jim, that none of this is your fault. Rowan...he just believed in something that wasn’t there,” Meryn soothed. “It drove him mad.”

He nodded slightly, and looked at Meryn. “I do understand,” he finally replied. “And I promise I’ll prove myself to you and the others.”  
“Oh, my dear, you don’t need to,” she smiled. “You already have. You’re kind, and gentle: a true leader.”

The two were interrupted by Meryn’s daughter, who staggered over to Jim. Picking her up, he nestled her on his lap and smiled as she showed him one of her toys. Meryn watched the two interact.

“You’ll do just fine with your own child,” she smiled, letting her daughter wrap her hand around her fingers.  
Jim looked up at her, “how do you know-”  
“-Rowan had a sneaking suspicion you might be with child,” she replied. Jim nodded.

After Meryn put the girl to bed, she walked with him to the door, seeing him off. “If there’s anything you need, you come to me,” he said. “Directly to me.”

Meryn smiled and hugged Jim. “I will. Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ._. As I said before, the KhanXRowan ship sunk like a rock. Praying to God that this is a suitable reason for Rowan being a asshole towards Jim...Is it?


	13. Brokering Alliances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KLINGON LANGUAGE :'D God, I'm excited to get down to this chapter :'D

Rowan had collapsed a few miles from the city; the sun was too much, his clothes were drenched in sweat and he had lost a lot of blood. But what confused Rowan was that he had woken up inside the city, being dragged by the arms by Klingon warriors. He couldn’t talk, his mouth and throat were too dry, so he let his head hang down.

He was suddenly thrown forward onto his front. Scrambling up, he came face to face with a Klingon captain, glaring into the augment’s eyes. “ _Nuq’nuh_ _Suvwl’_ ,” he said gruffly. “You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?”  
Rowan looked around to see the entire city was a Klingon camp, hoarding hundreds of soldiers decked out in armour and forging weapons.  “I suppose I am, not further than _you_ are, I’m sure.”

The captain smirked and threw a punch across Rowan’s bashed jaw, causing the augment further pain.   
“ _Baktag_ , you will show our captain respect!” one of the soldiers barked in a heavily accented English. Rowan only glared at the Klingon, and rubbed his jaw. “We should not trust the _hur’q_ , he could be a spy.”

The captain held up his hand to silence the rambling soldier, and knelt down to Rowan’s height. “Why were you out in the middle of the desert? Alone, I might add.”  
“I was banished from my home by a _teHqeq_ and his _sli-Vak_ ,” Rowan managed a smirk at the captain’s surprised look.   
“You speak Klingon?”  
“Only a few words,” Rowan flashed a look to the soldier behind him. “Enough to know when you insult me.”

The captain laughed. “You augments are just full of surprises.”  
“We try our best,” Rowan hauled himself to his feet to face the captain. He was at least a foot taller than Rowan, physically larger and covered in scars.

“So you were banished? I never thought augments would turn against each other.”  
“We were happy,” Rowan drawled. “Until someone else came along and destroyed us from the inside.”

The captain nodded, and gestured Rowan to follow him into one of the main command tents. “I can’t return alone,” Rowan continued. “I’m sure my king would quickly fall to his knees at the sight of a Klingon army ready to tear down his perfect city.”  
“I am sure he would,” the captain replied gruffly. “If I were so kind as to lend you that army.”  
“You might. Under the right circumstances, that is.”

Rowan watched the captain sit in one of the chairs, leaning his jaw on his hand. “What circumstances would those be?”  
“The augment who banished me,” Rowan said. “Is Khan Noonien Singh.”  
The captain snapped to attention, leaning forward in his chair.  
Rowan laughed. “I thought that might interest you,” he smiled.

 

*

 

The captain had Rowan’s injuries seen to. Nothing as bad as he had thought out in the desert; his jaw was indeed fractured but didn’t require any major attention, his abdomen was practically purple with bruises and his lip was cut deep. After the stitches, the captain reappeared in Rowan’s temporary quarters.   
“My men have just returned from a routine survey of the outer desert,” he informed Rowan.  
“And?” Rowan drawled while keeping a damp cloth to his forehead, where yet another bruise dealt by Khan was.  
“There is indeed a city of augments, but we do not know if it is led by Khan Noonien Singh,” the captain said, one of his arms clutching one of his phasers, as if he was threatening Rowan.  
“Trust me, it is,” he replied, throwing the cloth onto the small table beside him. “He forced me away from my family. He beat me out on a cliff-face not far from the city, and left me there to die.”

“I would expect an augment to be stronger,” the captain smirked. “Surely you were not injured _that_ badly to die.”  
Rowan glared at the Klingon. “I had no provisions, and I was weak.”  
“Then we found you,” the captain informed him. “If anything, _Suvwl’_ , you owe us.”

Rowan rolled his eyes. _Typical Klingon bastard_ , he thought. “I’ve noticed you haven’t located a permanent source of food or water to pump into this camp,” he informed the captain. “The city has everything and more, and if you should take it over...”  
“It would be ours,” the captain finished. It was a prospect that definitely interested the captain, Rowan could tell by the slight curve on his lips.

“If that doesn’t persuade you,” Rowan continued. “I can also tell you that Khan and his whore are having a child.”

The Klingon’s eyes grew wide. “And I’m sure having an augmented human on your side would be an asset.”

Rowan merely smirked as the Klingon pondered about it. “With an army of trained Klingon warriors, why would I need an augment-hybrid.”  
“You could use it to broker an agreement with Starfleet,” Rowan said, as he absentmindedly playing with the fabric of the cloth.   
“What do you know of Starfleet?” the word itself seemed like poison for the captain to say.   
“Khan’s whore happens to be one of Starfleet’s finest; James Tiberius Kirk.”

The captain smirked.

“So we have a deal?” Rowan said. “I’ll show you how to get into the city, you’ll tear it down, and use that bastard child to get what you want from the most powerful federation space has ever seen.”

“ _JllajneS. Ghlj qet jaghmeyjaj_ ,” the captain sneered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nuq'nuh - Hello  
> Suvwl' - Warrior  
> Baktag - An Insult  
> Hur'q - An Outsider  
> TeHqeq - A being known for Lying  
> Sli-Vak - Whore (Sorry Jim, Rowan's words...Not mine)  
> JllajneS. Ghlj qet jaghmeyjaj - I accept. May your enemies run in fear.


	14. The Left Side of Everywhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter when things for the others (i.e., the crew of the Enterprise) start to move along. Also...Jim has doubts...Listen to Jim.

Khan smiled at the sight before him; Jim had his thin shirt pulled over his stomach, letting his other hand rub it gently. He was starting to show, but it was a very slight bump. Jim caught Khan’s gaze through the mirror and turned around to face him.

“How long have you been standing there?”  
“Not long,” he smiled, making his way over to Jim. “But long enough for you to be talking to our child.”  
Jim shrugged. “What can I say; I’m insane.”  
Khan’s smile grew bigger as Jim took his hand and placed it on his stomach. He leaned down to kiss the blond before the door behind them opened slightly. “Master Khan?”  
“Yes,” he pulled back from the blond. “What is it?”  
“Some of the other augments wanted to speak with you,” one of Khan’s chief soldiers stood at the door.   
“I’ll see to them later,” he turned his head to the man, but kept his hold on Jim.   
“If you don’t mind me saying, sir,” he replied sheepishly. “I don’t think they want to be ignored.”

 

Khan and Jim both walked down to the city, soon to be approached by two of the other soldiers.   
“What’s all of this I heard about Rowan being banished?” Noah asked as soon as he laid eyes on Khan.  
Just as the augment went to reply, the other soldier, Soren, interrupted, “What did he do that was so bad?”  
“He threatened the peace of our people,” Khan announced to not only the two interrogating him, but to the surrounding augments; making sure _everyone_ knew why he did it.   
“But _banishment_?” Soren argued. “The desert is harsh enough when we’re in groups. Imagine what it’s like for him out on his own!”

Khan clenched his jaw, but Jim placed a hand over his. “Rowan meant to destroy our city, destroy our people,” Jim said. “Khan had to put a stop to it.”  
“I understand that,” Noah replied. “But Rowan should have been imprisoned, not banished-”  
“-What good will that have done?” Soren barked.   
“If Rowan is banished, he could come back!”

Khan took a few steps away from the arguing pair, running a hand over his face. Jim just sighed, “We’ll deal with all of this at a later time,” he said, keeping an eye on Khan. “Just return to whatever you were doing.”  
“We don’t take orders from you, Kirk,” Soren snapped.   
“I am your Prince,” Jim snapped back. “You _do_ take orders from me.”

Soren huffed a breath and stormed off. Noah just ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry for him, he’s just-”  
“-It’s fine,” Jim replied. “I can understand where he’s coming from.”  
Noah smiled and gave Jim a small bow and walked after Noah. Jim turned to see Khan sitting on the ledge of a small wall, head buried in his hands. “It’s not your fault,” Jim said softly.   
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Khan replied, looking up at him. “I can’t do this anymore.”  
“Hey,” Jim sat down beside him, grabbing his hands. “You are an amazing ruler. You keep the peace, you care for your people and they love you. Not many rulers can say they have that.”  
“Have what, exactly?”  
“The devotion of his people,” Jim smiled.   
“And his husband,” Khan nudged Jim. He had promised him as soon as possible, they would get married. But with the recent events, Jim had persuaded Khan to put it off until this whole Rowan business was sorted out.   
“Exactly,” Jim kissed him quickly, and then leaned into him. Jim could feel Khan tensing every so often, so he wrapped an arm around his back. “We’ll be fine.”

 

*

 

“Commander,” Scotty appeared at the door of Spock and Nyota’s apartment. “I might ‘ave something you’d want to have a look at.”  
Spock nodded and invited Scotty inside, ushering him into the living room where Nyota was filtering through PADDs full of various information; some about previous Starfleet banishment records, others concerning the geographical information of the planetary system.

“I was speaking to Admiral Morgan a few days ago,” Scotty said, taking a folder out of his bag. “He was planning a routine survey of the Delphic Expanse as well as Denobula, and needed a crew with experience to man a ship.”  
“So you volunteered us, I hope?” Nyota raised an eyebrow.  
“I did indeed,” Scotty announced proudly, handing the file over to Spock.

Flicking through the papers inside, Spock looked up at the engineer. “The Delphic Expanse and Denobula are a considerable distance away from the Ceti Alpha System-”  
“-But the Mutara system is practically next door,” Scotty explained. “We go on this expedition to the Expanse, and then drift into the Mutara system to Regula 1, a three day journey from Ceti Alpha.”

Nyota smiled. “Well done, Scotty.”  
“I try my best,” he chided and sat down on one of the chairs. Spock thought about the plan for a few minutes; plotting their path would be difficult, they could be monitored by Starfleet. All of these issues setting back their plan, but Spock was prepared to give it a try.

“Contact the others,” he announced. “Tell them to be prepared for an expedition.”  
Nyota nodded and went to her communicator to send the message.

 

*

 

Jim was developing a habit of wrapping a hand around his stomach. Wherever they went, the town, the house, he always had one hand interlocked with Khan’s and the other around his middle, like he was protecting it.

Outside the house, Khan noticed that Jim would often tense at the slightest thing; a child running out in front of them, crowds of people appearing from behind. To remedy this, Khan would give Jim’s hand a small squeeze, or else bring the man closer.

“You seem out of sorts,” he murmured into Jim’s ear, making sure only they could hear. “What’s wrong?”  
“Nothing,” Jim replied. “It’s just...”  
“It’s just, what?”  
“I don’t feel right,” Jim looked up at Khan. “Something just feels wrong.”

Khan looked worriedly at Jim, brushing some of his blond hair back from his face. He gently held Jim’s chin between his thumb and index finger, “I’m sure it’s just something to do with the pregnancy-”  
“-No,” Jim said. “Something feels wrong, Khan.”

Jim was starting to panic; he didn’t show it, but Khan could _feel_ it. He rested his forehead against Jim’s, “Are you thinking about Rowan?”  
He nodded slightly.  
“Then I’ll send a company out to guard the outside of the city, then another to survey the outer desert.”

Jim gave a small smile, a _forced_ smile, and whispered, “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rule of Life: Always listen to Jim.


	15. My Love, Leave yourself behind

“There,” Rowan pointed at the city wall. “There’s a small opening into the city used for water.”  
“We cannot fit an army of Klingons through a small opening-”  
“-I’ll get through, then. I’ll take out the guards to the southern gates, and then the army comes in,” Rowan informed.

The captain took another look at the city; they were positioned behind sand dunes miles away from the walls, letting Rowan break down the defences and tell the locations of each guard.   
“Aktuh,” one of the soldiers grumbled. “Should we trust the augment? What if he’s leading us into a trap; we’ll be slaughtered.”  
“If I were to lead you into a trap, captain,” Rowan drawled. “Then I would have already set the augments on you the second we came close to the city.”

Aktuh took his eyes of the city and glared at the augment. “I do not doubt your information, _Suvwl_ ’, but if I find out you are lying,” he approached Rowan and grabbed his neck in a tight hold. Rowan’s breath hitched and his tried to pry the Klingon’s hand from his throat. “I’ll kill you, drag you out of _Gre’thor_ , and kill you again.”

 

*

 

Admiral Morgan had granted permission for the crew of the Enterprise to go to the Delphic System. The ship was restored to its former glory within a year, repairing everything Khan and his crew had destroyed.

Spock watched every available crew member bustle around the ship; loading medical care with McCoy, and listening to him rambling about the perplexity of the System, and the very good chances they would get lost and starve. Scotty and Chekov were weaving in and out through the ship’s engines, making sure they fixed everything and making sure it actually worked.

The Vulcan entered the bridge, watching Sulu and Carol map out the course they would take. Nyota was only steps behind Spock who was staring blankly at the captain’s chair. She sighed and took his hand, “he’d want you to lead us,” she repeated from weeks beforehand.   
“I understand,” he replied. “It is strange; him not being there.”  
Nyota nodded in agreement and glanced at Sulu and Carol who were watching them. “You once told me that a crew must carry on with their jobs, no matter how emotionally compromised a captain may be.”  
Spock turned to her and gave a small smile, then walking shyly towards the chair.

“I’ll find you, my friend,” he sat down stiffly in the chair.

 

*

 

It had been several weeks since the Enterprise had deported from Earth. Since then, things had been going according to plan; the Delphic System proved to be easily to navigate through, and Sulu had set a course to move into the neighbouring Mutara System.

Spock watched the crew like a hawk, especially Carol. Although the Vulcan had the upmost trust in the woman, he couldn’t help but send someone to keep an eye on her when she ventured around the ship. Although she only went to either her quarters or to the med-bay to talk to McCoy, Spock felt more at ease knowing her whereabouts, no matter what.

“Captain?” Sulu turned to face Spock.  
“Yes?” he replied, jolting himself upright. Even after weeks of being called _captain_ he never got used to it.  
“We’re about to enter the Mutara System,” Sulu informed him, bringing up a small map on his PADD. “From there, it will be another few weeks to Regula 1.”  
“Then a 3 day warp-speed journey to the Ceti Alpha System,” Carol concluded. Carol and Sulu had worked together continuously since they departed from Earth. Scotty had often joked that they would make the perfect couple, only to be shot a death-glare from Nyota from the other side of the bridge.

“Very good,” Spock nodded. “If we keep to that path, we will be with Jim in a matter of weeks.”

 

*

 

Jim woke one morning feeling okay. He didn’t feel annoyed, or wanting to throw up everything he had eaten the previous evening. He felt...fine.

Opening his eyes, felt Khan’s arms around him tighten. “Morning.”  
“Mmm,” he nuzzled into his chest.   
“How are you feeling?”  
“Alright, weirdly enough,” Jim laughed. “But it might not last.”  
“You could be too far gone to get sick anymore,” Khan gestured to his stomach. It wasn’t huge, but recognisable and definitely a change from previous weeks.  
“That’s scary,” Jim confessed. “That’s just your way of saying our baby will be arriving in a matter of months.”  
“Or weeks,” Khan mused.

Jim nearly leapt out of the man’s grasp and looked at him. “Weeks?”  
“Yes,” Khan chuckled and combed his hand through the blonde’s hair, letting his head rest against his shoulder. “I don’t know whether or not you’ve noticed this, but I’m an augment...and so is our baby.”  
“So he or she will be born early?”  
“Maybe,” Khan replied. “Other augments’ were, but I’m not sure with ours. They’ll be only half-blooded.”

Jim sighed. He was starting to worry again; what if what Khan said was true and the baby _did_ arrive early? Was he ready? He liked to think so, that he would be an amazing dad. But the more he thought about it, the more his heart lurched.

“Jim,” Khan warned. “Stop doing that.”  
“Doing what?”  
“Worrying,” his grip around Jim tightened slightly. “You’ll be fine.”

Jim didn’t reply, he just closed his eyes and melted into Khan’s hold on him, letting the augment kiss the top of his head. “You know I’ll have to leave in a few minutes.”  
“Tell them you’re busy,” Jim groaned, trying to latch onto him.  
“I can’t lie to my officers, James.”  
“You’re not lying,” he informed the augment. “You have a pregnant husband at home that desperately needs you to be there with him.”

Khan just laughed at Jim’s attempts to drag him back down onto the bed. “You’re capable of looking after yourself,” he said, dragging himself out of bed. “Besides, you have Laila and Meryn.”  
“’Suppose,” Jim sat upright. “So how’s the Rowan search coming along?”  
“We found nothing so far,” Khan threw on his clothes. “It’s like the man just disappeared.”  
Jim sighed and looked down at his hands. “Hey,” Khan said, making his way back over to Jim. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll keep you safe,” he smiled and kissed him gently.  
“I’m sure you will,” Jim mumbled against his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY, this fanfiction is actually going somewhere now, and I'm not just rambling :'D Happy Days...


	16. What am I doing here all alone?

Rowan sat in the captain’s tent, idly watching the Klingon commanders come and go as they received their orders for surveying the land surrounding Khan’s city. Throwing his head back to stare at the roof, he sighed audibly, “these plans of yours captain seem to be taking a considerable amount of time.”  
“Mind your place, _hur’q_ ,” Aktuh snarled. “Despite what you might know of us, we do not blindly run into a city hoping for victory. Particularly a city infested with augments.”  
“Infested? My, my, captain you speak of us as if we were vermin,” Rowan chuckled. “Such treacherous talk; Khan Noonien Singh is a king-”  
“-He is no king,” Aktuh seethed.  
“Maybe not, but he’s the most powerful being on this planet-”  
“-Then you are a fool to believe he is the most powerful being on this planet,” he barked at the augment, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “He will die along with people: I will make sure of it.”

Rowan bowed his head slightly, as though he was inviting the captain to do so. “I’m sure you will,” he mused. “Firstly, you need to get into that city, to which you need _me_.”  
“Sadly enough, we do,” Aktuh cursed. “However, you have already shown us the way inside.”

Rowan’s smile faded ad Aktuh closed the gap between them, looking over the Klingon’s shoulder to see two soldiers enter the tent. “Since you have paved the way for us, I’m afraid your services are no longer required.”

The soldiers proceeded forward so they stood at both ends of Rowan, while the captain stood in front of him, boxing him in. “This is ridiculous! You _need_ me!”  
“I’m afraid, _shuVak_ , we do not,” Aktuh motioned for the soldiers to grab his arms and haul him to his feet. He reached out for the augment’s face, lifting his head up, “You have the greenest eyes, do you know that? I bet a merchant in Orion would pay good money for such emerald eyes. Until then,” Aktuh signalled for the soldiers to take him away.

“You can’t do this! You can’t breach the city without me!” Rowan roared behind him.  
“ _SoHvaD pagh vljatlh, Human_!” the captain responded, chuckling as he flicked through the maps of the surrounding deserts of the city. “Kraag!” he yelled, letting a commander enter the tent. “Get every soldier back here; make the final preparations for the attack.”  
“But sir,” Kraag said. “What about the child?”  
“What _about_ the child?”  
“The augment said it would be some weeks before the child is born,” he said. “Should we not wait until the child is born until we take it?”

Aktuh turned to face the commander and circled the man. “And why should I wait?”  
“If you wait,” the commander gulped. “The Starfleet captain will be weak; easier to subdue. While the augment will be with him, so we would be able to get both of the men together.”  
Aktuh nodded. “And do you know what happens when a father sees a threat to his child?”  
Kraag didn’t answer, but lowered his head as he felt Aktuh’s glare bore into the back of his skull. “He’ll protect that child with his life, and that is how soldiers fall,” Aktuh seethed. “I am not losing my soldiers that way.”

“But, captain,” Kraag replied. “We do not have sufficient weapons; our phasers are damages, and our blades are dented and blunt.”

Aktuh went around to stand infront of the Klingon. “Then fix it,” he growled. “We need to get a move on with this plan before anything goes wrong-”  
“-Sir!” one of the commanders burst into the tent. “Kovar and Ruktah have located a Starfleet vessel entering the Ceti Alpha System!”  
Aktuh glared at the commander. “What do you mean ‘located a Starfleet vessel’?”  
“A Starfleet ship has entered the system and is sweeping the planet for life forms,” the commander said.

Aktuh chuckled. “They’re looking for their captain,” he growled. “Send a message to that ship, tell them turn around or they will have their captain’s blood as well as his child’s on their hands.”  
The commander nodded and fled the tent, running for the communicator.

 

*

 

“Captain, we’re receiving a message from Ceti Alpha V,” Chekov said, turning to face Spock, who leaned in forward to the screen.  
“Bring it up,” he ordered.

Uhura turned from her station and caught Spock’s questioning gaze. _Jim_? She mouthed. Spock shook his head, and turned his attention to the screen again. A message from the Klingon commander; the picture was faded and the sound of static filled the air of the bridge. Spock notably tensed.

“Commander Spock,” the Klingon mused. “In the captain’s chair, no less.”  
“What do you want?”  
“I bare a message from my captain,” the commander said gruffly. “We know about your plans to locate one of your own on these planets,” Spock turned to Uhura, shocked plastered on her face. “I can tell you now, _hur’q_ , he is indeed here,” the commander said bluntly.

The crew on the bridge seemed to relax and tense at the news. Their captain was on the same planet as an army of Klingons; this was bad.

“Why do you tell us such news, Commander?” Spock asked calmly.  
“It would seem that your captain and my captain are positioned around the same area; only a desert of fifty miles in diameter separates them. My captain has orders to launch an attack on the walled city in which James T. Kirk now resides as Prince.”  
“Prince?” McCoy asked, standing in from behind Spock.  
“Yes, it would seem your captain has married the augment King,” the commander sneered.

The bridge was silent and tense, every member looking at each other. “Did he not inform you, Spock?” the commander chuckled. “Or the fact he was carrying the augment King’s child?”

Spock leaned back in his chair, refusing to let any emotion shine through. Bones on the other hand, stood mouth opened and wide-eyed.

“Oh Captain Spock, how could he have not told you? It’s only the biggest gossip that Ceti Alpha V has ever heard,” the commander leaned back in his chair and laughed, joined by those surrounding him.

“Jim...Jim’s,” Bones’ stuttered. Nyota stood from her position and joined Carol, Sulu and Chekov.

“But, gossip aside, my captain has taken an interest to the child. We once planned to desolate the city and everyone in it, but now-”  
“-Now you want the child,” Uhura concluded.  
“Smart woman,” the commander chided. “If you and your crew stay out of our way, Captain Spock, I might be able to ensure Kirk’s safety.”  
“Might?” Spock questioned.  
“He may sustain injuries; either from us or pushing that demon spawn out of his body. Either way, he’ll be vulnerable...” the commander trailed off.  
Bones marched forward to the screen. “If you lay on finger on him I swear to God I’ll-”  
“-You will what, doctor? Launch an attack on us? Do remember we are closer to your captain than you are. It would be such a shame if he was killed because of you.”

Bones spun around to face Spock. “What do we do?” he panicked.  
“I’ll make sure my crew stay out of the way,” Spock told the commander.

He chuckled darkly. “My captain will be so happy to hear that,” he signed off.

“Are you insane?!” Bones shouted across the bridge. “The Klingons are monsters! They’ll tear the city apart and kill Jim otherwise, that’s why-”  
“-That’s why we’re going to get there before they do,” Spock said calmly.

The whole crew turned in their consoles to the captain. “Chekov, you and Scotty make sure the transporters are ready. Beam us down near the city.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ShuVak - Servant (Lol Rowan)  
> SoHvaD pagh vljatlh, Human! - I have nothing to say to you, Human!
> 
>  
> 
> Chapter 16: The Chapter in which Rowan got his comuppins (THANK GOD) and Spock is an amazing captain...God I love him.
> 
> ....Why do I feel bad about Rowan....Is this normal?....Never mind, I'm fine now.


	17. No One Knows You Like I Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Piecing everyone's stories together was a bit hard...But...Yeah, it was hard.
> 
> IF YOU ARE OF AN EMOTIONAL-DISPOSITION.....MAKE SURE YOU DO SOME EMOTIONAL-WARM UP-EXCERSISES BEFORE ADVANCING.

Noah and Soren led a small party of augments over the sand dunes of the desert. They had travelled this way so many times; they knew the desert like the back of their hands.

Soren had more stamina than the others, so Noah had ordered him to run ahead of the troop and scope out anything of interest. Noah had let the troop stop for water, and was contemplating heading back when one of the augments spotted Soren running back to the group.

“You might want to see this,” Soren gasped, catching his breath from running in the scorching heat. He led the small troop over some other dunes, then over a small land-bridge where he motioned for Noah to look over an overhanging cliff. Sheepishly walking forward, Noah paled when he saw the camp of Klingon warriors.

“We need to tell Khan,” Noah said quietly, kneeling behind some rocks, hiding them from view.   
“That’s not all,” Soren whispered and pointed towards a small wooden enclosure with two Klingons standing guard outside, while one stood towering over-  
“Rowan?” Noah looked on as the augment was beaten by the warrior. “What the hell is he doing in a Klingon camp?”  
“I don’t know,” Soren replied, eyeing the rest of the camp. “But from what I could see, they’re planning something.”  
Noah looked back at Soren. “Planning something?”  
“A march, maybe. I couldn’t see much,” Soren shrugged. “I could get closer if you want-”  
“-No,” Noah said. “We’ll travel back to the city and tell Khan.”

Slipping away from the rocks, the troop made their way back across the desert.

 

*

 

Spock and Nyota marched down the corridor of the Enterprise, heading to the transporters. Bones had been running after the pair since they left the bridge.   
“Spock, you’ll need me down there,” he debated. “If Jim’s pregnant, God knows when he’ll decide to have it.”  
“I acknowledge your concern doctor, but the chances of Jim having the child during the Klingon raid are slim-”  
“-They’re still _chances_ , Spock,” he moved infront of the Vulcan and stopped him. “Male pregnancies are complicated as they are, let alone one where one of the parents is an augment.”

Nyota turned to Spock, “He has a point.”  
Spock looked at the two. “You can come, on the condition that once you see to Jim you go straight back onboard the ship.”

Bones glared at the Vulcan, but nodded. At least he got to see if Jim was alright, rather than not getting to see him at all. He and Jim had been through everything together, and he sure as hell wasn’t missing such an important piece of Jim’s life just because a Vulcan told him otherwise.

Once positioned in the transporters, Spock called over to Scotty, “be prepared for getting us back as quickly as possible Scotty.”  
The engineer nodded and started the machine.

 

*

 

Once down on the planet, Nyota and the two men looked around. Scotty had placed them down in the desert, not far from the city. Brushing the dust off their uniforms, Bones muttered, “Lovely location.”  
“Bones,” Nyota warned him and followed Spock forward.

Spock had his eyes locked on the outline of the city’s walls, thinking about how to get to Jim. They would have to negotiate their way in, which is why he brought Nyota. After that, he had no idea about what to do. If Jim wanted to be rescued, he was prepared to fight, but if he didn’t want to be rescued... Then, Spock presumed, they’d abide by his wishes and leave. He _was_ their captain after all.

Spock was jolted back to the present when Bones nudged him and motioned to a small group of people running across the sand dunes. Just as the trio were about to get down out of sight, they were approached from behind by two of the people. Nyota went to pull out her phaser, but was disarmed.

“What is your business here?” one of the men barked. Spock looked behind him to see the group of people had come to a halt, and were all facing them.   
“Soren,” the other said, placing a hand over his grasp on Nyota’s arm. “They are friends of Jim’s.”  
“What do you know of Jim?” Bones questioned.   
“He is our King’s husband,” the men informed them. “I am Noah, and this is Soren. Apologies if we harmed you, milady.”  
“Not at all,” Nyota picked up her phaser from the ground and placed it back in the holster. Spock walked forward towards the augments, “we want to see Jim.”  
“Of course,” Noah replied. “We’ll take you to him.”

Noah gestured for the three to walk with them. Bones looked at the augments questionably, “where exactly _is_ Jim?”  
“He’s being looked after by the doctors of the city,” Soren informed them. “He’s in good hands, don’t worry.”  
“Well, I want to have a look at him,” Bones grumbled.

When they reached the gates, Noah motioned for them to be pulled apart, revealing the city to the three crewmembers. “It’s beautiful,” Nyota smiled.   
“Thank you,” Noah replied. “A year ago it was just a pile of dust and gravel, and our accommodation was just as bad.”  
“But Khan made sure we had the necessary equipment to make the city what it is now,” Soren concluded.

Spock and Bones looked around; the augments watched them carefully and silently, ushering their children to their sides. “Forgive them, they’re not used to outsiders,” Noah called back to the men when he noticed the others’ reactions. “You should have kept your Starfleet uniforms on, they would recognise you as Jim’s kind.”

The group came to a stop in the town centre, letting the others disband. Noah turned to one of them and ordered him to tell Khan of their find in the desert. “Also, tell Jim that friends of his are here.”  
The man nodded and made his way up the main street.   
“So, Jim’s your prince?” Bones asked.   
“Technically speaking, yes,” Soren replied, sitting down on a small wall. “Khan inducted him into our family, and because Khan is our King-”  
“-Jim became your Prince,” Bones concluded.   
“Exactly,” Noah nodded. “I can see why you cherish him, he’s an effective leader. Even on sensitive topics,” he glared at Soren, who bowed his head.   
“What do you mean _sensitive topics_?” Nyota asked.   
“A man called Rowan used to live here, but he was banished on the grounds of treason against Khan. When Khan tried to explain that what Rowan did was unacceptable, some of us didn’t agree,” he gestured to Soren. “Jim had it seen to that what Khan did was the right thing, not only for us, but for our future generations.”

 

*

 

Khan looked out the windows overlooking the vast desert. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, contemplating about what has happened over the previous weeks. A knock came from the door, making him flinch, “it’s only me,” Jim smiled, approaching the augment.   
“Don’t sneak up on me,” Khan mumbled.   
“With a stomach like this I didn’t think that was still possible,” Jim smirked. Khan only smiled, and wrapped his arm around the blonde’s back. “I can’t wait to get this thing out of me,” he groaned.   
“I’ll make sure to tell our child that once it’s old enough,” Khan mused.   
“Do and I’ll kill you in your sleep,” Jim replied, following Khan’s gaze out of the window. “What are you looking at?”  
“Nothing,” Khan sighed. “And that’s the problem.”  
“You expect Rowan’s out there, don’t you?” Jim leaned against Khan, trying to turn his face away from the window.

When Khan looked at the blond, he saw a soldier at the door out of the corner of his eye. “What is it?” he asked worriedly when he noticed the soldier was out of breath and covered in duct from the desert.   
“Sir, I was told to inform you that while out surveying, we spotted a Klingon war-camp on the outer desert.”  
Khan tensed. “How far away?”  
The soldier shrugged, “Fifty miles, maybe a bit more. They’re planning a march.”  
“According to whose information?”  
“Soren ran ahead to scope out the surrounding areas, when he returned rambling on about some Klingon camp. When we went to investigate, he said he saw them arming themselves with weapons and discussing plans with their captain. And...” the soldier trailed off and hung his head.   
“And what, soldier?”  
“...While we were observing the camp, we saw Rowan, sir. He appears to be a prisoner.”

Jim looked up at Khan. “Good,” he said coldly. “Let them have him. He’s no concern of mine.”  
“Khan-“  
“-No, Jim,” he looked down at him. “He betrayed us, so he deserves whatever the Klingons decide to do to him.”  
“The Klingons are monsters,” Jim said. “They’ll beat him to within an inch of his life-”  
“-I will not discuss this anymore, Jim.”

Jim looked down and nodded. “Sir, there was one other thing I was meant to tell you.”  
“What?” Khan said, sounding more annoyed and about to break.   
“Upon returning to the city, we found some Starfleet members approaching,” Jim’s head snapped up. “They claim to know Jim.”  
“Is one of them a Vulcan?” Jim asked hurriedly.   
“Yes,” the officer agreed.  
“Why did you bring them in here?” Khan asked.   
“They wanted to see Jim, make sure he was alright,” the officer replied.  
“They only want to make sure I’m happy,” Jim turned to Khan. “I want to see them.”  
Khan sighed. “Fine.”

 

*

 

Noah brought Nyota, Bones and Spock up to Khan and Jim’s house, rather than having a heavily pregnant Jim walk down to them. Nyota seemed relaxed, talking idly to Soren and Noah about the city and the other augments. Spock and Bone clung to the past; they didn’t trust the augments as much as they seemed to trust them.

Jim was waiting in the main room for the crew members, and a smile broke across his face when Nyota ran to the blond. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you’re safe,” she said, clinging to Jim.  
“I can tell,” he laughed. His smile faded when he saw the heated gaze between Khan who stood to the side, and Spock and Bones who stood behind Nyota. When she went to the side, she held her hand out for Khan. “Hello again,” she smiled.   
_Well at least she’s trying_ , Jim thought to himself.

Bones and Spock made their way over to Jim. Bones, of course, pointed out the pregnancy. “I’m well aware, thank you Bones,” Jim smirked.  
“Do you need any help?”  
“He’ll be fine,” Khan said from across the room. “We have medics here that are very capable in the field of childbirth.”  
“Any in the field of _male_ childbirth?-”  
“-Bones,” Nyota snapped.   
“Yes, actually,” Khan informed him. “Unlike your race, augments do deal with males baring children.”  
Bones huffed in annoyance and let Spock deal with the augment.

“I presume you’ve heard about the Klingon invaders?” Spock asked Khan.   
“Yes, I have. We can deal with them ourselves,” Khan replied. “And your captain will be safe within the city, so don’t worry.”  
“It’s not against the Klingons we want to protect Jim from,” Bones muttered, earning a glare from Khan.   
“Despite what you might think, doctor, your captain came with me willingly,” he said. “He loves me, and I love him.”  
“Oh please, don’t make me throw up,” Bones grumbled. “A year ago, you two couldn’t be in the same ship without tearing each other’s eyes out. A few weeks after that, you and Jim disappear from the radar. You had me worried sick, Jim,” he said. “I thought that psychopath had kidnapped you. And I find out a few months ago that you were _in love_ with him?-”  
“-Bones,” Jim glared at the doctor, and walked over to Khan, lacing their fingers together. “I _do_ love him, with all of my heart, actually. I don’t know how it happened, it just did! I’m sorry that you were worried, and I wanted to send you a message to say I was alright, but I couldn’t! Starfleet would have found out Khan’s location and would have taken him away from me. I needed to keep him safe-”  
“-What about Carol? She knew where you were!”  
“She only knew because she’s the one who got me a ship that was stable enough to carry us here. I made her swear not to tell anyone, and she wanted to. She wanted to tell all of you,” he gestured to Spock and Nyota. “But I asked her not to, because I knew you wouldn’t be happy that I was in love with a man who caused so much pain and suffering.”

When Jim finished, he was nearly in tears. His grip on Khan’s hand had tightened, with the other arm lacing around his upper arm, clinging to him for support. Khan looked down at the blond and gently brushed some of his hair away from his face, kissing the top of his head and murmuring something none of the crew members could hear.

They looked at each other, before Spock said, “If he makes you happy Jim, then we are happy. We just wanted to make sure you were safe.”  
Nyota agreed. “If you want us to leave, we’ll leave. But we want to help against the Klingons.”  
Khan looked at the crew members and Nyota continued, “If you’ll let us, of course.”  
Khan thought about it for a few minutes before nodding slightly. “We would gladly do with your help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was THEE hardest chapter to write...By far...


	18. The Killer isn't My Enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some Jim in this, but it's mostly Khan getting even with Rowan.

Jim watched as Khan threw on his jacket, getting ready to go out to the Klingon camp with the other soldiers. Khan caught the blond’s gaze in the mirror and gave him a small smile, before walking towards him. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”  
Jim nodded, but didn’t say anything. In fact, he hadn’t said anything since he told Leonard why he left Earth. Although the doctor was now trying to make amends with Khan, Jim was still shaken.

Khan held Jim’s chin and made the blond look at him. “The Vulcan is coming with me-”  
“- _The Vulcan_ has a name,” he said emotionlessly.  
Khan sighed. “Spock is coming with me. Uhura and McCoy are staying behind.”  
“Why is Nyota staying?”  
“She said she wanted to,” Khan replied.

Jim smiled and walked away from the augment, making his way across the room. Khan followed him, grabbing his hand and tugging him into a hug. “I’ll come back,” he said into Jim’s hair. Khan pulled back and looked down at his stomach. “I don’t know how long this might take, but don’t you dare have that child without me.”  
Jim broke into a laugh. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

 

*

 

Khan and Jim walked down to the city gates together, at the front of the small army of augments. Spock flowed closely behind once he said his goodbyes to Nyota. Khan leaned down to kiss Jim quickly before he headed off into the desert.

Jim watched them until the sand dunes and mirage lines hid them from view. “They’ll be fine, kid,” Bones said as he approached from behind Jim.  
“I hope so,” he replied, subconsciously resting a hand on his middle.  
Bones watched Jim’s movements. Just as he was to turn away to go back to the augments left behind, Jim caught his hand. “I want to ask something of you.”  
“Anything, Jim.”  
“I don’t know when this child will be born. The augmented blood is making it difficult to put a date on the birth but...I want you there with me when it happens.”  
“What about all of the other medics that Khan has?” Bones raised an eyebrow.  
“They can do whatever they like; I want _you_ there,” Jim looked straight into McCoy’s eyes. He nodded slowly, “Of course, Jim. I’d be happy to do it.”

 

*

 

Soren walked with Khan at the front, telling the augment where the best place to view the Klingon camp without being spotted. He led the group of forty around a series of sand dunes and rocks that they had followed the previous day, until Soren inclined his head. “Over there,” he whispered.  
Khan looked back at Spock who moved up towards the two augments. Khan and Spock both looked over at Klingon camp, surveying the layout and how many soldiers patrolled.

“Alright,” Khan murmured, motioning for everyone to listen. “Soren, take as many men as you’ll need and take out the guards patrolling the outer camp, but stay there. Once they’re gone, Noah, locate the captain and take him out. Klingons might be great warriors but when they see their captain dead, they’ll start to flee. Soren, if any try and get past you, deal with them.”

Soren and Noah nodded. “What about you and me?” Spock asked.  
“Anyone who’s left, we can deal with. But before that, I have to deal with someone first,” Khan said, glaring at the Vulcan.  
Spock didn’t reply but accepted the plan. The group broke into their sections and disbanded. Khan and Spock went along a small crevasse that wrapped around the back of the camp. Occasionally, Khan would look over the Vulcan’s shoulder to see Soren and the small number of augments he took come up behind a Klingon and grab them by the neck, dragging them away from the camp. Noah had been with both Khan and Spock, but wandered off behind the tents when he saw the Klingon captain uniform.

“There,” Khan whispered, inclining his head towards a wooden prison block. It was one big cell, but only one person in it; Rowan. _Perfect_ , Khan thought. He was about to start moving again when Spock grabbed his arm. “I take it you seek revenge against that particular prisoner.”  
“That particular prisoner might be the reason my people were threatened by the Klingons in the first place,” Khan hissed. “I want to know for certain before I split the man’s skull.”  
Spock understood Khan’s anger. “I’ll go pick off the remaining soldiers. I have a feeling you want that prisoner all to yourself.”  
Khan smirked. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

Spock watched the augment head towards the cell block, before heading towards the captain’s tent to help Noah. Pulling out his phaser, Spock gently moved the tent cloth out of the way to see Noah’s arm around the captain’s neck, snapping it in two. He released the body, letting it fall to the floor with a thud. Spock put his phaser back in the holster and looked at Noah’s bloodied chest. “You’re hurt.”  
Noah looked at the Vulcan confused before looking down at his chest. “It’s a scratch, don’t worry about it.”  
Spock nodded and glanced out the tent at the augments walking in freely. “We got ‘em,” Soren called out, smile plastered on his face.  
“Did any get past you?” Spock raised an eyebrow.  
“No, killed them all,” Soren informed him. He looked around, “Where’s Khan?”  
“He wanted to deal with a prisoner,” Spock replied. Soren smiled and turned to the other augments, “Well that’s something worth seeing,” he laughed, marching towards the cell block.

 

*

 

“Lord Khan,” Rowan said weakly. “What in the name of God are you doing here?”  
“Looking for you actually,” Khan approached the augment. He looked him over; his hair was drenched in sweat, falling over his face. When Khan reached forward and brushed his hair out of the way, he saw Rowan’s face was scarred, every bit of white skin painted in red blood and purple bruises. His lip was cut deeply, and Khan was definitely sure a few teeth had been knocked out, which would explain the river of blood coming from his mouth. Khan couldn’t help but smile, “You deserve this,” he chuckled, cupping Rowan’s cheek. “Every. Single. Bit. Of. It.”

Rowan closed his eyes and seemed to lean into Khan’s hold on his face. “I’m sorry, my King. I’m so sorry,” he whispered.  
“Your remorse is useless, Rowan,” Khan said, his gaze following the line of bruises and bite marks on Rowan’s neck and chest.  
“Get me out of here,” he pleaded. “And I’ll go somewhere else. I’ll leave you and Jim alone. I’ll go-”  
“-You’ll go nowhere,” Khan said, standing back up. “My men have just eliminated every Klingon here, and soon we will return to the city. So, you could say that I am the only person who knows you’re here, my little Rowan.”

Rowan eyes grew wide. “No, no please don’t leave me here by myself,” Rowan picked up his arms and grasped onto Khan. “Please.”  
Khan looked down at Rowan who was trying with every ounce of energy he had left to cling onto Khan. He couldn’t help but laugh, “I _could_ leave you here by yourself,” Rowan’s head snapped up and Khan met his gaze.  
“But I could kill you,” He knelt down to hold Rowan’s face again. “I could snap that pretty neck of yours, or I could go outside and find the rustiest blade here, and drive it through your eye, then out the back of your skull.”

Khan’s cold glare bore into Rowan’s pleading eyes, contemplating. “I told you, Rowan. No one alive could devise a more painful death than me.”  
“Just kill me,” Rowan blurted out. “The Klingons had beaten me senseless! Just end it.”  
“That would be showing you relief, my old friend,” Khan chided. “And relief of pain is something you don’t deserve.”  
Khan wiped away a tear that had fallen down his cheek. “I’m sorry, my King.”

Khan reached behind him to his belt where he had a small dagger. “So you have said before,” he unsheathed the dagger and ran the blade over Rowan’s stomach, watching the augment’s breath hitch as the blade neared Rowan’s chest. “The fact remains Rowan, you were going to lead an army of Klingon savages into my city; slaughtering the men, women and children inside.”  
Rowan’s hand reached up to Khan’s face. “I’m sorry, but now I see I was wrong! I was so wrong to betray you! I love you so much Khan, please. I love you so much.”

Rowan was practically crying at that stage, his hands on either side of Khan’s face, eye’s locked on his. Before Khan could comprehend what was happening, Rowan pulled him down and kissed him forcefully and desperately. When he pulled away, Rowan cried, “Look me straight in the eye and tell me that you don’t feel the same way I feel about you.”

Khan looked him in the eye and ran his hand over Rowan’s bruised face, and smiled. Rowan stopped crying and smiled, leaning forward expecting another kiss from the augment. Rowan leaned forward and kissed Khan again, with more force than the last one, opening his mouth wide enough for their tongues to glide against each other. When they parted, Khan mumbled against Rowan's lips, “I don’t have any feelings for you,” before plunging the dagger into Rowan’s chest, into his heart.

Rowan gasped, and looked down at the blade fully impaled into his chest. Within seconds, Khan let him slouch back down against the wall of the cell, his eyes becoming heavy. Before closing them, Rowan managed to keep his hands on Khan’s face, “I-I loved y-you, so m-much,” he gasped.

Khan looked down at Rowan as his hands fell down to his sides and his eyes closed. Looking around the cell, he sighed. Standing up from the dirt floor, he glanced down at Rowan’s lifeless body.

“Rest in Peace, you bastard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...Rowan's dead.
> 
>  
> 
> .......Yup. I do feel like a cold hearted bitch for the last few sentences...but fuck it. 
> 
> Regarding Rowan's death; I honestly believe Khan did give Rowan a painful death, just like he said on multiple occasions. Rowan genuinely believed, for a few seconds, that Khan loved him, only for Khan to say "...bitch, no". So...yeah, Rowan got the most painful death imaginary, where he's concerned....I'm such a horrible person....


	19. Changlings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OHMYGOD I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. I recently started the final year of secondary school (ages 13 - 18 in Ireland, for all of my international friends) and the end of year exam (The Leaving Cert (It decides your life (seriously))) is a big deal so I have to learn 6 years worth of work in 1 year...I'm an idiot...*facepalm* Also, its become a new thing to give students shit-tonnes of homework...WHY?! Don't they realise I have Ao3 to write for?! God...Sometimes I hate people, man....
> 
> Anyways, back to the ship that is Khirk....Yeah. They're amazing.

Nyota was sweeping through a PADD, enlisting all of the messages that the crew back on the Enterprise had sent them. Still awaiting the return of Khan and Spock, Nyota spent as much times as she could with Jim; she would ask him questions about life here, about the people that inhabited the city...if there was room for any more people.

Of course the topic of ‘ _are you going to stay here, Jim?_ ’ had come up, especially from Bones, but Nyota saw a civilisation that was going well; peaceful and happy. Jim asked why Nyota would even ask such a question, and even if she was going to stay here, what Spock would have to say.   
“I don’t need his opinion on everything, Jim,” she grumbled as she sat beside Jim who was leaning back on a few pillows on the bed. Bones had insisted that Jim be bed-bound since the augment child within him was growing exceptionally fast. Jim, being Jim, was against being limited to his bed, especially because while Khan was away, the city was in his control.

Looking up from the PADD, Nyota smiled when she saw Jim sleeping, but noting the occasionally sweeping of his arm over to Khan’s side of the bed. Now that she thought about it, they were taking a long time to get back. Spock had sent a communication saying that Khan had he and the augments had dealt with the last of the Klingons and they were heading back.

“They’re probably caught in a sandstorm,” Jim said softly, making Nyota jump slightly.   
“Thought you were under doctor’s orders to be sleeping,” she replied.  
Jim shrugged and hauled himself up to a sitting position. “I’ve never been one to follow anything that Bones says.”  
Nyota hummed in agreement before setting the PADD down a carrying on of the chairs over to the bed to sit beside Jim. “They’ll be back soon, the deserts are just unpredictable.”

Nyota nodded and sighed. “So how are you feeling?” she asked when she looked at the large bump in Jim’s middle.  
He threw his head back into the pillows, “The sooner this thing is out of me the better.”  
Nyota laughed. “Aren’t you a loving parent?”  
Jim just shrugged and placed a hand over the bump. “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”   
“No, neither of us wanted to know,” Jim said, turning his head over slightly to look at Nyota. “Can I ask you something?”  
“Of course.”  
“Are you ok with this?” Jim said quietly. “About me staying here, about me being married to Khan...” he trailed off. “About me carrying his child?”  
Nyota looked around the room, “Of course I’m ok with it. I will admit, I was a bit shocked at first, but I see now that you love him. If you’re happy then I’m happy.”

Jim was about to respond when Meryn knocked gently at the door. “Jim, Khan is back.”  
“Good,” he sighed happily. “Tell him to get his ass back up here now.”  
Nyota turned around to the augment. “Is Spock with him?”  
“Yes, my lady,” she replied smiling. “He was asking for you.”  
Nyota turned back to Jim who only nodded. “Now’s your chance to ask him.”  
She smiled and was led by Meryn out of the room down to the streets. Just as Jim was about to fall asleep again, he heard another knock from the door. Bones was standing there with a couple of medical equipment gathered in his hands with Laila trailing behind him.

“Can I help you?” he asked smiling.   
“I need to check on the baby,” Bones replied gruffly before marching into the room to Jim’s side.   
“You know I’m considered a Prince here, right?”  
“What of it?”  
“So I can have you thrown out of here in seconds if you don’t do what I command,” he announced jokingly, noting Laila smiling behind Bones.   
“And what do you command, you highness?”  
“That I don’t require a check-up every five minutes,” he sighed and relaxed back into the pillows.

Bones carried on with the examination anyway; he wasn’t going to let Jim tell him what to do. The man needs to be knocked off his high-horse. He threw a glance back to Laila who was standing at the foot of the bed, pouring some liquids into a small cup. He has seen her give it to Jim religiously every day, saying that it would help with the pain, something that Bones originally scoffed at.

Jim swatted his arm. “Don’t even say a word,” he whispered.   
“I wasn’t going to,” Bones replied.

 

*

 

Khan watched every augment he had led on the raiding party reunite with their families. This was what he liked to see; the smiling faces of his people, and not the cold, unmoving ones that he packed into cryotubes years ago.

“You have a good life here, Khan,” Spock said, standing beside him. “I see that now.”  
“I’m glad that you do,” he replied.  
Spock sighed, before turning to him. “I was wrong before. It is clear that your past ways have been long abandoned for a more humane and loving one. It’s clear in the in the faces of your people; they love you.”  
“And I can assure you that they love Jim as well,” Khan said.

Spock nodded, before the two men turned to see Nyota and Meryn coming up the streets. Spock wandered over to Nyota before Meryn weaved her way past to Khan. “Is it done, then?” she asked.  
Khan nodded. “The Klingons are dead.”  
“That’s not what I’m asking,” Meryn replied. “I know you found him out there. Is he dead?”  
“Yes,” Khan replied softly, trying not to let the others hear.  
Meryn only swallowed. “I’m sorry, Meryn.”  
“It’s fine,” she said. “He was a danger to the people and himself. The outcome of death was inevitable.”  
“But you loved him.”  
“I did, once perhaps. But it faded.”

Nyota wrapped her arms around Spock and hugged him tightly. “I thought you would never get back here.”  
“I was safe, I can assure you.”  
“Good,” she smiled, looking into his deep brown eyes before speaking again. “I need to ask you something.”  
“Then ask.”  
“I’ve spent a lot of time walking the city since you left with Khan,” she explained, taking his hand and leading him away from the group to a more private area. “I saw the people who live here and how they live. They’re so happy, Spock, and I-”  
“-You want that happiness?”  
Nyota slowly nodded. “I know the crew won’t want to stay, maybe you don’t want to stay, but Starfleet as well as much of the world is crumbling. People like Marcus still exist, foreign aliens coming into our world and tearing it apart. Maybe _humans_ are tearing it apart.”

Spock listened to Nyota, who was nearly crying. He saw the tears beading in her eyes, before he rubbed them away gently. “I understand,” he said. “If staying here is what makes you happy, then you can stay here.”  
“I want you to stay here too, with me,” she said cupping his face between her hands. “Please stay with me.”  
Spock thought about it for a moment before concluding, “The Enterprise crew-”  
“-Will be coming back and forth from Earth,” she explained. “They can visit us. We’ll be happy Spock, and free, and any children we’ll have will be free too.”

They both smiled and rested their foreheads together. “If it’s what you think is best, then yes. I’ll stay.”

 

*

 

Khan had lost track of time while observing his people, making sure they got home safely. They each said their goodbyes to their leader before going back to their houses. Nyota had approached Khan shortly after to ask for his permission to stay within the city, to which Khan agreed. Any friend of Jim’s was going to be a friend of his.

Khan had been talking to the human and Vulcan before he saw Laila sprinting up the streets, nearly colliding into the augment. “What is it?”  
“It’s Jim,” she gasped for air. “He’s having the baby now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I've consumed myself in the Star Trek into Darkness DVD that I got today...I'm not leaving my room...Benedict's voice...oh my good god


	20. Thunderstorms could never Shake Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter...Is...Done. It's done. I don't want to deal with it anymore. Onto the

Khan was the first to enter the house, heading swiftly to their room and to Jim’s side. Spock and Nyota were left in the main room, watching Bones wander around grumbling into a communicator. From what Spock could pick up, the child’s augmented blood may cause a problem for either Jim or the child. Bones was hysterical; calling the crew aboard the Enterprise, he called for every available medic personnel and usable equipment to get down here ASAP.

“Bones,” Nyota tried to calm him down. “You’re no help to Jim just walking around stressing. You need to be in there with him.”  
“I’d be more help if I had the right equipment here,” he replied, closing the communicator and shoving it into his pocket before sighing. “You two have to stay out here.”  
They both nodded in agreement and Bones disappeared into the room.

He gently closed the door behind him and watched Khan take Jim’s hand and talk to him quietly. Keeping close to the wall, he wandered over to a few of the augment medics and Laila, who asked to help in whatever way she could.   
“How are you feeling?” Khan whispered loud enough for only Jim to hear.  
 “Sore,” he groaned. “How long is this going to take?”  
“A while, my love,” he smiled. “You’re doing fine, and in a few hours you’ll be holding your new child.”

Khan ran his free hand over Jim’s forehead, wiping away the hair stuck to his head from sweat. Jim closed his eyes, letting Khan’s attempt to relax him. He had almost forgotten that Bones was even in the room until he was standing at the other side of the bed.  “Some people from the Enterprise are coming over with supplies,” Bones explained. “It’s only to make sure you come out of this ok.”  
Jim nodded. “Alright,” he turned to Khan. “But you’ll stay with me?”  
“Of course,” Khan smiled.

 

*

 

Nyota took a seat down beside Spock, covering his joined hands with hers. “He’ll be fine.”  
“I know,” he replied quietly.

Moments of silence went by as the two relaxed in each other’s assurance, until Noah came in through the door leading some Starfleet medics. Spock gestured to the bedroom door before they started to pile in.

Noah, however, stood aside and went over to Spock and Nyota. “I hear you’ll be staying with us?”  
“Yes,” Nyota answered.   
“Well we’ll be happy to have you here.”

 

*

 

Hours seemed to go pass and Jim was sure he was going to go mad. He had clenched Khan’s hand from the moment he had returned home and, if it wasn’t for Khan being an augment, Jim would have broken every bone in his hand.

Bones was consulting two senior medics that Jim recognised from the ship. He was too tired to listen to what they were talking about, but whenever he looked to Khan, he was fully engulfed in the conversation. “They’re just deciding what to do, my love,” he whispered.   
“What do you mean _‘what to do’_?”  
“You might not be able to give birth naturally,” Khan explained, tracing Jim’s knuckled with his finger. “They might need to operate.”  
Jim only sighed. “Let them. I’m so exhausted I don’t care anymore.”  
Khan smiled. “You don’t mean that.”  
“I do,” he replied. “And I’m in pain.”  
“Well Bones gave you something for it, and you refused. So it’s your own fault,” Khan mused, ignoring the glare from Jim.

Bones had finished talking with the medics and rejoined Khan and Jim. “We decided it would be best if we operated.”  
Khan nodded for the both of them and Jim closed his eyes. “We’ll put you to sleep and cut across your lower stomach.”

While Bones was explaining what was going to happen, Jim felt one of the medics raise his arm to inject an anaesthetic. Khan was watching the medic too, still listening to Bones rattle off what they were going to do. Jim’s arm was lowered again before the medic rejoined the other Enterprise one, and the other augment ones.

Jim felt himself become dizzy and his grip on Khan’s hand soon slacked as he was pulled under. Bones let Khan lean over Jim and kiss him gently before moving to the other side of the room, still keeping a watchful eye on the doctor and his crew.

It was clear to him that the human doctors hadn’t dealt with any male pregnancies, whereas it was a common enough occurrence in the augments’ lives. They were the ones to get straight to it when they were sure Jim was under.

 

What seemed to be hours of cutting and cleaning, Khan’s attention was drawn when he heard the muffled sound of a baby crying. He lifted his head to see one of the augments take the baby across the room and clean it, making sure it was able to breathe. Khan’s breath hitched when the woman turned to him and gestured him to come over. “It’s a boy, my lord.”

Khan was never so careful with his movements when he treaded across the room and let the woman place the baby in his arms. He was aware of the team behind him stitching Jim’s stomach back up and wiping away some of the blood on his skin.

Pulling back the blanket, Khan looked at the boy in his arms; his eyes opened slightly, letting the mix of Jim’s crystal blue and Khan’s green stare up at him. “Hello little Prince,” he whispered, not letting the others behind him hear.  
The baby smiled and squirmed in his arms. He was so consumed at looking down at his son, he didn’t realise the doctors had been ushered out by Bones who must have seen the interaction between him and his son.

Before leaving, Bones turned to the augment and said, “It may be a while before he comes to, and he’ll be weak for a few days-”  
“-I’ll make sure he’s under house arrest, Doctor McCoy. Don’t worry.”

Bones nodded and left with the remaining augments that congratulated Khan on the way out. “Let’s go see your daddy, little one,” he smiled at the newborn and wandered over to Jim, sitting down on the chair he had been sitting on for hours.

 

When Jim finally woke up, Khan was still talking gently to the boy in his arms. Jim’s eyes adjusted to the evening sun shining in through the windows, wincing at the piercing pain shooting up through his middle that now felt empty.

He turned his head and saw his husband and child looking back at him. “Hello,” he said, his voice heavy with sleep.   
“Hello,” Khan responded quietly. Jim’s smile only grew when he saw the tiny arms of his child reaching up for Khan. “Is this our child?”  
“This is our son,” Khan said, cradling the boy in one arm and helping Jim sit up on the bed. Once he was settled, Khan placed their son in Jim’s waiting arms, sitting on the edge of the bed with him.

“Our little boy,” Jim beamed, stroking his soft skin. “Our little boy that needs a name.”  
Khan looked down at Jim. “Any ones in particular?”  
He shrugged. “I haven’t really thought about it. You?”  
“I’m the same. With all of my time revolving around Rowan and the Klingon invaders,” he explained.

After a moment of silence, Jim said, “Fabian.”  
“Fabian?” Khan asked, eyebrow raised. “Why Fabian?”  
“I don’t know. He just looks like a Fabian.”  
Khan looked down at the boy in Jim’s arms. He stopped moving beneath the thick white blanket once he was given to Jim, and fell into a deep sleep. Jim had pulled away some of the blanket to smile at the tuff of wheat coloured hair, Khan musing on how he looked like him. “I suppose he does,” he smiled and kissed Jim’s head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's done. It's horribly written, to be perfectly honest. I need to get this chapter done and out in 2 days before....school. God. Exams.
> 
>  
> 
> "Let Love Bleed Red" - Sleeping with Sirens. Go listen to it. Now. Seriously. The Khirk anthem, if I should say so myself ^L^ Well....The LOVING-Khirk. If you're going for the SMUT Khirk...then "Bang" - Armchair Cynics is the way to go ;D
> 
> But yes. Little Fabian. *flails* I think it's become my thing to give Khan and Jim beautiful babies. Is it just me writing the Mpregs or...


	21. Chapter 21

It didn’t take long for the news of Fabian’s birth to reach the Enterprise. Khan had allowed the crew members to travel into the city and see Jim, for a while at least. Carol had led Scotty, Sulu and Chekov into the city, following the same path Spock, Nyota and Bones had used a week before.

Carol and Nyota, of course, fawned over the new baby in Jim’s arms while the rest of the crew members stuck to the walls, like they were terrified to interrupt something. They were planning to ask Jim about coming back to Earth with them, as was their initial mission. But Spock had pulled them away when they entered the house, explaining how Jim was going to stay here, as was he. Of course there was opposition, but after listening to Spock’s reasons, they reluctantly agreed.   
“If you want to come back, you just call us. Alright?” Scotty whispered, nudging Spock. He nodded slightly, leaving the crew when Jim called him over.

“You’ve been here the longest and you didn’t get a chance to hold him,” he said, gesturing for Nyota to hand Fabian over. Spock held out his arms for the baby, letting him squirm around until he was comfortable. Nyota smiled at the sight of Spock holding the small child, gently swaying.

“You’ll be good parents, I’m sure,” Carol whispered quietly.

 

The crew spent until night in Khan and Jim’s home until they decided to leave for Earth. Khan was leading them out until the flashed a look back to Jim who was hugging Carol. He couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he did manage to work out, “thank you”.

Carol let go of Jim and followed the crew back to the ship, saying a goodbye to Spock and Nyota too. The crew had promised to take a ‘mandatory’ trip here every year. Khan had arranged one of the houses built by the augments to be a home for Spock and Nyota; it was just as big as his and Jim’s and within reaching distance of each other.

When Khan was sure the crew had left the city, he returned to the bed and lay down beside Jim, who was starting to get colour back in his face, a huge contrast to the previous ghostly white he had after the birth of their son.

Jim was back to cradling Fabian, letting the small child wrap a hand around his index finger. “He’s perfect.”  
Khan nodded in agreement and threw an arm around Jim, pulling his to his side. “We’ll have to make the announcement to the others in a few days.”  
“As in a formal announcement?” Jim asked, eyebrow raised.   
“Yes, a formal announcement,” Khan smiled. “He’s a Prince, isn’t he?”  
“Yes, yes he is.”

 

 *

 

[3 years later]

Morning routines with a hyperactive three year old usually ended with Khan coming home, throwing a giggling boy over his shoulder, only to deposit him on the floor covering him with kisses.

“I can’t believe you used to be the most dangerous threat we had ever dealt with,” Jim mocked from the doorway, arms folded, with a smile spread across his face.  
“I’m not totally evil,” Khan replied. “I do have a soft spot for the people I love.”

The three year old broke free from his father and ran to his dad. “My little soldier,” Jim laughed and hauled him up into his arms. “What did you do now?”  
“Nothin’,” he said, nuzzling into his dad’s neck. Jim raised an eyebrow at Khan who only rolled his eyes. “I’ll take your word for it then.”

The child took off into another fit of laughter before being transferred to Khan. “Are you going on patrol now?” Jim asked.  
Khan nodded. “I hoped our little Prince here would be able to join us.”  
Fabian looked to Jim with eyes wide. “Please?”  
Jim thought about it for a while until sighing. “Only to the first gate and not any further,” he said, then glared at Khan. “Understand?”  
Khan only smiled and kissed Jim gently, getting a glimpse of the three year old pulling a face. “Off you two go then.”

Outside the house the sun was already high in the sky and bearing down on the city. Khan stifled a laugh when he felt Fabian hide under his jacket. “Too warm?”  
Fabian nodded. “We won’t be long,” Khan said, running his hand through the boy’s blond hair. “Unless you want to visit Sobek and Avarin while I patrol?”

Nyota had fallen pregnant shortly after the crew of the Enterprise returned to Earth, and then nine months later she and Spock presented their son Avarin to Jim and Khan. From the start, both Fabian and Avarin had been inseperatable, much like their dad’s Nyota often remarked.

“I want to stay with you,” Fabian grabbed his father’s hand and laced their fingers together.   
“Alright,” Khan led the boy down the main street, acknowledging the augments that filed passed him greeting him and Fabian.

“Father?” the boy said after a while. Khan stopped walking, expecting the child to ask could he be carried. Instead, Fabian just asked, “Can I see what Earth is like?”  
Khan paused. “What do you know of Earth?” Khan’s mind immediately went to Jim, and he felt horrible about it. But he had overheard the stories Jim would tell Fabian to get him to sleep by himself, rather than burying himself between his parents.

Fabian looked down at his boots, letting his blonde fringe flop down onto his eyes. “Fabian,” Khan said, kneeling down to his height. “Did daddy tell you a story about Earth?”  
It took him a while to respond, but Fabian brushed his hair off his face and nodded, the suddenly looked worried. “But he told me not to tell you.”  
“Why?”  
“He thought you might get angry,” he mumbled down at the ground.

Khan sighed and gathered the boy up into his arms, kissing his cheek. “I’m not angry,” he informed the three year old. “I would never be angry at your dad or you.”  
Fabian buried his head into Khan’s neck and nodded. Khan rubbed his back before continuing walking the streets.

“I love you, father,” he mumbled.  
“I love you too, my Prince.”

 

 "I am free now,  
  Free to live without my fears.  
  I believe now  
  There's a reason why I'm here  
  
  Can I be a man?  
  One that understands  
  How to love more patiently.  
  I'll be free now,  
  I'll be free now.  
  
  And we dream of the day, when our kids can play,  
  In the streets with no fear of them being taken away.  
  Fathers raise their sons with respect and love,  
  Handle anger and pain with no need for no guns.  
  If we hope to be free it takes you and me,  
  To start over here and now  
  'Cause this world is, the way it is, it's how we raise our kids."  -  Sleeping with Sirens - "Feel".


End file.
